ABSTRACT

For people with symptoms that could indicate cancer, prompt presentation to a health care practitioner facilitates early diagnosis, improves survival, and is encouraged by public health agencies and cancer charities. Nevertheless, time to presentation from symptom onset (the patient interval) is known to vary widely. We report findings from a mixed-methods study examining help-seeking among people with symptoms of lung or colorectal cancer. Patients referred for urgent investigation were invited to complete a questionnaire about their symptoms and help-seeking experiences; 26 of these participants then took part in a semi-structured interview. Discrepant accounts of help-seeking were reported through the different research methods, with longer ‘patient intervals’ reported in interviews. We use the concept of ‘public and private accounts’ to reflect upon why socially conforming accounts of early presentation were presented in the questionnaires, whilst accounts of longer ‘patient intervals’ tended to be presented within an interview encounter.

摘要

对于有可能表明癌症症状的人，及时向医疗保健从业者提出有助于早期诊断，提高生存率，并受到公共卫生机构和癌症慈善机构的鼓励。然而，已知从症状出现到出现的时间（患者间隔）差异很大。我们报告了一项混合方法研究的结果，该研究检查了有肺癌或结直肠癌症状的人寻求帮助的情况。被转介进行紧急调查的患者被邀请填写一份关于他们的症状和求助经历的问卷；其中 26 名参与者随后参加了半结构化访谈。通过不同的研究方法报告了寻求帮助的不同说法，在采访中报告了更长的“患者间隔”。