Barriers to seeking help for skin cancer detection in Rural Australia

Abstract

This study explores rural South Australians' barriers to help-seeking for skin cancer detection. A total of 201 randomly selected rural adults (18-94 years, 66% female) were presented with a skin-cancer-related scenario via telephone and were asked the extent to which various barriers would impede their help-seeking, based on an amended version of the Barriers to Help-Seeking Scale. Older (≥63 years) and less educated participants endorsed barriers more strongly than their younger, more educated counterparts in the following domains; "Concrete barriers and distrust of caregivers", "Emotional control", "Minimising problem and Normalisation", "Need for control and self-reliance" (every domain other than "Privacy"). Socioeconomic disadvantage, gender, and farmer status did not predict stronger overall barriers, but some gender and occupation-related differences were detected at the item level. Farmers were also more likely to endorse the "Minimising problem and normalization" domain than their non-farmer working rural counterparts. Widely endorsed barriers included the tendency to minimise the problem, a desire to remain in control/not be influenced by others, reluctance to show emotion or complain, and having concerns about privacy or waiting times.