Table 2. Descriptive Characteristics of 2897 Participants in All Cancer Center Catchment Areas.
| Characteristic | Participants, No. (%) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | Rural | Total | ||
| Age, y | ||||
| 50-64 | 1023 (58.5) | 577 (52.9) | 1629 (56.2) | .004 |
| 65-75 | 726 (41.5) | 513 (47.1) | 1268 (43.8) | |
| Race and ethnicity | ||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 1428 (82.6) | 914 (84.6) | 2393 (83.4) | .19 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 169 (9.8) | 92 (8.5) | 263 (9.2) | |
| Hispanic | 47 (2.7) | 18 (1.7) | 68 (2.4) | |
| Othera | 85 (4.9) | 57 (5.3) | 143 (5.0) | |
| Income, $ | ||||
| <20 000 | 234 (13.4) | 223 (20.5) | 472 (16.3) | <.001 |
| 20 000-49 999 | 328 (18.8) | 320 (29.4) | 663 (22.9) | |
| 50 000-99 999 | 449 (25.7) | 290 (26.6) | 749 (25.9) | |
| ≥100 000 | 334 (19.1) | 123 (11.3) | 461 (15.9) | |
| Missing | 404 (23.1) | 134 (12.3) | 552 (19.0) | |
| Education | ||||
| ≤High school | 336 (19.4) | 349 (32.1) | 712 (24.8) | <.001 |
| Post–high school trainings | 484 (27.9) | 373 (34.3) | 873 (30.3) | |
| ≥College | 913 (52.7) | 366 (33.6) | 1291 (44.9) | |
| Employment status | ||||
| Employed | 665 (38.0) | 321 (29.4) | 1001 (34.6) | <.001 |
| Retired | 602 (34.4) | 444 (40.7) | 1069 (36.9) | |
| Reported disability | 132 (7.5) | 153 (14.0) | 297 (10.3) | |
| Other | 151 (8.6) | 106 (9.7) | 264 (9.1) | |
| Missing | 199 (11.4) | 66 (6.1) | 266 (9.2) | |
| Financial security on present income | ||||
| Living comfortably | 651 (37.2) | 372 (34.1) | 1043 (36.0) | <.001 |
| Getting by | 413 (23.6) | 373 (34.2) | 802 (27.7) | |
| Finding it difficult | 169 (9.7) | 148 (13.6) | 328 (11.3) | |
| Finding it very difficult | 72 (4.1) | 64 (5.9) | 140 (4.8) | |
| Missing | 444 (25.4) | 133 (12.2) | 584 (20.2) | |
| Primary source of health coverage | ||||
| Uninsured | 72 (4.2) | 38 (3.7) | 112 (4.0) | <.001 |
| Medicare | 592 (34.7) | 468 (45.7) | 1081 (38.8) | |
| Medicaid | 78 (4.6) | 58 (5.7) | 146 (5.2) | |
| Private or employee based | 882 (51.6) | 410 (40.0) | 1309 (47.0) | |
| Other | 84 (4.9) | 50 (4.9) | 136 (4.9) | |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married or living as married | 843 (48.2) | 651 (59.7) | 1527 (52.7) | <.001 |
| Not married | 706 (40.4) | 378 (34.7) | 1108 (38.3) | |
| Missing | 200 (11.4) | 61 (5.6) | 262 (9.0) | |
| BMI | ||||
| <25, Under or normal weight | 447 (32.3) | 275 (29.1) | 735 (30.8) | .28 |
| 25 to <30, Overweight | 408 (29.4) | 293 (31.0) | 720 (30.2) | |
| ≥30, Obesity | 531 (38.3) | 376 (39.8) | 930 (39.0) | |
| “It seems like everything causes cancer” | ||||
| Strongly or somewhat agree | 905 (52.8) | 667 (62.5) | 1609 (56.7) | <.001 |
| Strongly or somewhat disagree | 810 (47.2) | 401 (37.5) | 1231 (43.3) | |
| “There’s not much you can do to lower your chances of getting cancer” | ||||
| Strongly or somewhat agree | 293 (16.8) | 262 (24.0) | 570 (19.7) | <.001 |
| Strongly or somewhat disagree | 1305 (74.6) | 772 (70.8) | 2097 (72.4) | |
| Missing | 151 (8.6) | 56 (5.1) | 230 (7.9) | |
| “There are so many different recommendations about preventing cancer, it’s hard to know which ones to follow” | ||||
| Strongly or somewhat agree | 1176 (68.9) | 812 (75.6) | 2034 (71.7) | .001 |
| Strongly or somewhat disagree | 530 (31.1) | 262 (24.4) | 803 (28.3) | |
| “When I think about cancer, I automatically think about death” | ||||
| Strongly or somewhat agree | 860 (50.1) | 620 (57.9) | 1517 (53.4) | <.001 |
| Strongly somewhat disagree | 855 (49.9) | 451 (42.1) | 1326 (46.6) | |
| “Cancer is most often caused by a person’s behavior or lifestyle” | ||||
| Strongly or somewhat agree | 683 (44.6) | 486 (48.6) | 1193 (46.1) | .05 |
| Strongly or somewhat disagree | 847 (55.4) | 514 (51.4) | 1393 (53.9) | |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Current | 172 (10.0) | 139 (13.1) | 317 (11.2) | .008 |
| Former | 473 (27.5) | 250 (23.5) | 738 (25.9) | |
| Never | 1077 (62.5) | 676 (63.5) | 1789 (62.9) | |
| In the past 12 mo, was there a time when you needed to see a doctor, but could not because of cost? | ||||
| Yes | 152 (10.2) | 131 (12.9) | 287 (11.2) | .03 |
| No | 1343 (89.8) | 886 (87.1) | 2280 (88.8) | |
| Is there a place that you usually go to when you are sick or need advice about your health? | ||||
| Yes | 1056 (78.6) | 620 (80.5) | 1686 (79.3) | .42 |
| There is no place | 49 (3.6) | 21 (2.7) | 71 (3.3) | |
| There is more than 1 place | 238 (17.7) | 129 (16.8) | 370 (17.4) | |
| What kind of place do you go most often? | ||||
| Clinic or health center | 241 (16.8) | 272 (27.7) | 534 (21.6) | <.001 |
| Doctor’s office or HMO | 1085 (75.7) | 642 (65.3) | 1760 (71.1) | |
| Hospital emergency department | 17 (1.2) | 7 (0.7) | 24 (1.0) | |
| Hospital outpatient department | 9 (0.6) | 6 (0.6) | 15 (0.6) | |
| Some other place | 47 (3.3) | 25 (2.5) | 74 (3.0) | |
| Do not go to 1 place most often | 35 (2.4) | 31 (3.2) | 66 (2.7) | |
| Born in the United States | ||||
| Yes | 892 (95.5) | 405 (97.1) | 1308 (96.0) | .16 |
| No | 42 (4.5) | 12 (2.9) | 54 (4.0) | |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); HMO, health maintenance organization.
a
Other race includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, other Asian, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, and other Pacific Islander.