Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review

Cancer care is evolving, and digital resources are being introduced to support cancer patients throughout the cancer journey. Logistical concerns, such as health literacy and the emotional experience of cancer, need to be considered. Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and fear of cancer progression (FO...

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Main Authors: Maebh Kenny-Jones, Paul Nankivell, Hisham Mehanna, Gozde Ozakinci
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Current Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/12/559
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author Maebh Kenny-Jones
Paul Nankivell
Hisham Mehanna
Gozde Ozakinci
author_facet Maebh Kenny-Jones
Paul Nankivell
Hisham Mehanna
Gozde Ozakinci
author_sort Maebh Kenny-Jones
collection DOAJ
description Cancer care is evolving, and digital resources are being introduced to support cancer patients throughout the cancer journey. Logistical concerns, such as health literacy and the emotional experience of cancer, need to be considered. Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and fear of cancer progression (FOP) are relevant emotional constructs that should be investigated. This scoping review explored two main objectives: first, the link between FCR/FOP and engagement with digital resources, and second, the link between FCR/FOP and health literacy. A database search was conducted separately for each objective. Relevant papers were identified, data were extracted, and a quality assessment was conducted. Objective 1 identified two relevant papers that suggested that higher levels of FCR were correlated with lower levels of engagement with digital resources. Objective 2 identified eight relevant papers that indicated that higher FCR/FOP is correlated with lower health literacy. However, one paper with a greater sample size and a more representative sample reported no significant relationship. There may be important relationships between the constructs of FCR/FOP, resource engagement, and health literacy and relationships may differ across cancer type and sex. However, research is limited. No studies examined the relationship between FOP and engagement or FCR/FOP and digital health literacy, and the number of studies identified was too limited to come to a firm conclusion. Further research is needed to understand the significance and relevance of these relationships.
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series Current Oncology
spelling doaj-art-53d3eb2a6f9940938b8261aaee8043992025-08-20T02:55:32ZengMDPI AGCurrent Oncology1198-00521718-77292024-11-0131127586760210.3390/curroncol31120559Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A ReviewMaebh Kenny-Jones0Paul Nankivell1Hisham Mehanna2Gozde Ozakinci3Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UKInstitute of Head and Neck Studies and Education, Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKInstitute of Head and Neck Studies and Education, Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKDivision of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UKCancer care is evolving, and digital resources are being introduced to support cancer patients throughout the cancer journey. Logistical concerns, such as health literacy and the emotional experience of cancer, need to be considered. Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and fear of cancer progression (FOP) are relevant emotional constructs that should be investigated. This scoping review explored two main objectives: first, the link between FCR/FOP and engagement with digital resources, and second, the link between FCR/FOP and health literacy. A database search was conducted separately for each objective. Relevant papers were identified, data were extracted, and a quality assessment was conducted. Objective 1 identified two relevant papers that suggested that higher levels of FCR were correlated with lower levels of engagement with digital resources. Objective 2 identified eight relevant papers that indicated that higher FCR/FOP is correlated with lower health literacy. However, one paper with a greater sample size and a more representative sample reported no significant relationship. There may be important relationships between the constructs of FCR/FOP, resource engagement, and health literacy and relationships may differ across cancer type and sex. However, research is limited. No studies examined the relationship between FOP and engagement or FCR/FOP and digital health literacy, and the number of studies identified was too limited to come to a firm conclusion. Further research is needed to understand the significance and relevance of these relationships.https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/12/559fear of cancer recurrencefear of cancer progressionhealth literacydigital resourcesengagementdigital health
spellingShingle Maebh Kenny-Jones
Paul Nankivell
Hisham Mehanna
Gozde Ozakinci
Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review
Current Oncology
fear of cancer recurrence
fear of cancer progression
health literacy
digital resources
engagement
digital health
title Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review
title_full Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review
title_fullStr Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review
title_short Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Fear of Cancer Progression, Digital Resource Engagement and Health Literacy: A Review
title_sort fear of cancer recurrence and fear of cancer progression digital resource engagement and health literacy a review
topic fear of cancer recurrence
fear of cancer progression
health literacy
digital resources
engagement
digital health
url https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/12/559
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