Abstract: Seeking information provides cancer patients with an effective strategy to manage the disease, however, it has been noted that many cancer patients in third world countries avoid information on the management of the disease. This paper presents a theoretical framework that can be used to investigate information avoidance of cancer patients in social settings. The paper explains cancer information avoidance; reasons or motivations that prompt information avoidance; consequences for information avoidance; information management of cancer and the need for effective management of cancer. Chatman's (2000) theory of normative behavior, one of the leading social theories of human information behavior is considered relevant and will be adopted for the paper because the theory provides scholars with a theoretical framework for understanding and explaining information practices (including information avoidance) in social settings. Finally, the paper displayed how the theory can be applied to investigate information avoidance among cancer patients by raising some relevant questions that can be asked by scholars who are interested in exploring information practices of cancer patients in social settings.
Key Words: Behavior, Information; Avoidance; Cancer; Patient; and Third World Countries
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