Feel Worried, Overloaded, or Fatalistic? The Determinants of Cancer Uncertainty Management Preferences.

Uncertainty in the context of cancer involves a complex and conflicting decision-making process. Individual preferences of seeking or avoiding information in the decisions of maintaining, reducing, or increasing uncertainty often depend on key cancer-related beliefs. The present study investigates whether cancer worry (CW), information overload (CIO), or fatalism (CF) can predict four constructs of uncertainty management preferences - avoid to maintain hope, avoid insufficient information, seek to increase uncertainty, and seek to reduce uncertainty. A hybrid model with structural and measurement components was specified and tested. The model analysis shows that cancer-related beliefs influenced individuals' needs and preferences for uncertainty management through seeking or avoiding information. CW was positively related to all but avoiding insufficient information. CIO was positively associated with all four preferences. CF was only associated with avoiding to maintain uncertainty. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Barriers to Enacting Childhood Sun Safety Behavior: Findings from Focus Group Interviews Among Hispanic Parents in Miami.

Hispanics are generally diagnosed at more advanced stages of melanoma than non-Hispanic Whites, leading to lower survival rates. As skin cancer incidence is attributable to lifetime exposure to ultraviolet light, encouraging the performance of sun safety behaviors in childhood is an important strategy to address this divide. Problematically, we know little about the barriers to sun safety among Hispanic youth, especially among the Hispanics living in South Florida. To address this gap, we conducted focus groups among parents of Hispanic children aged 4-10 to understand the unique barriers to sun protection among this audience. Results revealed four categories of barriers: child-based barriers, external barriers, parental enactment barriers, and parental proper adherence barriers. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for future intervention research among this audience.

Using Facebook for Sexual Health Social Marketing in Conservative Asian Countries: A Systematic Examination.

Social marketing related to sexual health is a problematic task, especially in religiously and/or culturally conservative countries. Social media presents a possible alternative channel for sexual health efforts to disseminate information and engage new users. In an effort to understand how well sexual health campaigns and organizations have leveraged this opportunity, this study presents a systematic examination of ongoing Facebook-based sexual health efforts in conservative Asian countries. It was discovered that out of hundreds of sexual health organizations identified in the region, less than half had created a Facebook page. Of those that had, only 31 were found to have posted sexual health-relevant content at least once a month. Many of these 31 organizations were also unsuccessful in maintaining regular official and user activity on their page. In order to assess the quality of the Facebook pages as Web-based information resources, the sexual health-related official activity on each page was analyzed for information (a) value, (b) reliability, (c) currency, and (d) system accessibility. User responsiveness to official posts on the pages was also used to discuss the potential of Facebook as a sexual health information delivery platform.