Health Psychology: Health beliefs and help-seeking for symptoms of cancer among overweight and obese women

Worldwide there are over one million new cases of gynaecological cancer each year. The risk factors for gynaecological cancer vary depending on the type of cancer and include older age, family history, number of children, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), being of African-American race and lifestyle factors such as smoking, a high fat, low fibre diet and obesity.Obese women are reported to be at higher risk of developing gynaecological cancers than non-obese women. Furthermore, it is known that women report that barriers related to their weight contribute to delay in the utilisation of healthcare services. The specific factors that contribute to obese women delaying help-seeking for symptoms of gynaecological cancer have not been identified. This research is timely given the increasing relevance of obesity as a public health concern and its strong association with increased risk, morbidity and mortality for a range of cancers. Although it would be preferable to reduce levels of obesity the current
situation demands a focus on improving help-seeking among obese women to improve survival outcomes.

The aims of the research are (1) to explore the health beliefs and help-seeking attitudes of overweight/obese women and (2) identify predictors of delay in help-seeking among normal weight and overweight/obese women.