Patient-Centered Communication and Cancer Information Overload Among Adults without a History of Cancer in the United States

Patient-centered communication (PCC) plays a pivotal role in improving healthcare quality and health outcomes. A plethora of cancer prevention-related information is publicly available, potentially leading to cancer information overload (CIO). However, little is known about whether experience with PCC can help prevent or reduce CIO among adults without a history of cancer. Pooled data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, Cycles 1-4, 2017 through 2020) were utilized for 10,636 non-institutionalized U.S. adults (≥18 years) without a history of cancer. The CIO was constructed based on respondents' experiences of difficulties following myriad cancer prevention recommendations. Experience of PCC was measured on a composite score scale of 0 to 100 based on elements of the PCC model for patient-healthcare provider encounters. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to investigate associations between PCC and CIO. Approximately 75.0% of the study respondents with a lower mean PCC expressed experiencing CIO (79.1 vs. no-CIO = 82.1, p < .001). With each one-unit score increase on the PCC scale, the odds of experiencing CIO decreased by approximately 1% (adjusted OR = 0.993; 95% CI: 0.988, 0.997; p < .01). The findings highlight that higher levels of PCC are associated with reduced odds of experiencing CIO. Increased PCC could help individuals better navigate cancer prevention-related information, thus reducing stress and improving informed decision-making. Healthcare providers and policy initiatives should promote tailored cancer prevention communication practices that prioritize patient-centeredness.