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Modifying Attributions of Colorectal Cancer Risk

¹ Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC and ² University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Requests for reprints: Isaac Lipkus, Duke University Medical Center, 905 West Main Street, Box 34, Durham, NC 27701. E-mail: lipku001{at}mc.duke.edu

We report how a four-group risk communication intervention targeted to individuals in the carpentry trade affected their perceived causes (i.e., attributions) for increased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. The intervention varied the amount of information presented on CRC risk factors and whether participants received tailored feedback on their risk factors. In baseline and 3-month follow-up telephone surveys, carpenters (N = 860) reported their perceived absolute and comparative CRC risks, perceived causes for increased CRC risk, and knowledge of CRC risk factors. At follow-up, neither the type or amount of information provided, nor the use of tailoring, appreciably and consistently affected whether participants mentioned their specific risk factor (e.g., lifestyle, occupational) emphasized in their intervention information. Furthermore, attributions did not affect CRC risk perceptions. These results suggest that participants do not integrate sufficiently CRC risk factor information into their conceptualizations of CRC risk, and that more effective methods are needed to contextualize risk factors information to achieve the goal of modifying CRC risk perceptions.

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