Table 1.
Domains in the questionnaire.
| Domains | Subdomains | Items |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Symptom experience | Specific and nonspecific cancer alarm symptoms | Alarm symptoms covering the following areas |
| Lung, gastrointestinal, gynaecological, and urogenital cancer | ||
| General, frequent symptoms | ||
| Fever | ||
| Feeling unwell | ||
| Feeling ill | ||
| Loss of appetite | ||
| Abdominal symptom-based conditions | Symptoms based on the consensus classification regarding dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome (the Rome III criteria) | |
| Symptoms forming the basis for diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (Montreal criteria) | ||
| Bodily distress syndrome | Items identified to classify BDS, covering the following areas | |
| Cardiopulmonary | ||
| Gastrointestinal | ||
| Musculoskeletal | ||
| General symptoms | ||
|
| ||
| (2) Symptom experience characteristics | Debut | First occurrence of the symptom experience |
| Impact on daily life | Impact of the symptom experience on daily life activities | |
| Concerns | The respondents' concerns regarding the symptom experience | |
|
| ||
| (3) Reactions in response to symptom experience | Use of social network | Discussion of symptom experience with friends, acquaintances, and family |
| Contact with the GP, other therapists, hospital doctors, community nurses, physiotherapists, etc. | ||
| Considerations about contact with the GP | Decisions of four barriers towards healthcare-seeking using the ABC (awareness and beliefs about cancer) | |
| “It would be embarrassing for me” | ||
| “I would be worried about wasting the doctor's time” | ||
| “I would be worried about what the doctor might find” | ||
| “I was too busy to find time to go to the doctor” | ||
|
| ||
| (4) Selected factors with potential influence on the symptom experience and healthcare-seeking | Life style | Smoking |
| Alcohol consumption | ||
| Body mass index | ||
| Access to social network | Frequency of contact in terms of telephone conversations and/or communion with others | |
| Concerns for the respondent | The GP's and surroundings' reaction and concern for the respondent | |
| Experience with illness | Experience with serious illness in the immediate family and close friends | |
|
| ||
| (5) Personality characteristics in relation to symptom experience and healthcare-seeking | Attitude towards risk-taking | Attitude towards risk in relation to health and finances |
| Self-rated health | Respondents assessment of own health | |
| Coping strategies | Respondents assessments of coping with problems using The Brief Approach/Avoidance Coping Questionnaire | |