Exploring the journey of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer (v1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the role of relationship style on help-seeking in women on the lead up to a diagnosis of ovarian cancer
IRAS ID
157023
Contact name
Lindsay Fraser
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL/UCLH Joint Research Office
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2014/10/20, UCL Data Protection Registration No.
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer (OC) in the UK are more likely to die within months of their diagnosis compared to women in other countries with an equivalent expenditure on healthcare. This difference is not explained by the stage of the disease at diagnosis. The women in the UK who die soon after their diagnosis tend to be older and the diagnosis made following an emergency hospital admission. Older people in the UK have been reported to be reluctant to consult their doctor about possible cancer symptoms. Research is needed to identify patient factors that may contribute to the early OC mortality reported and to translate this knowledge into better services for these women and their survivors.
Adult attachment relationship styles (secure, insecure avoidant/anxious) are reported to influence help-seeking in response to health threats. This study will assess the attachment relationship style of women diagnosed with OC and explore their retrospective accounts of help-seeking on the lead up to a diagnosis of OC. It is hypothesised that women with an insecure avoidant attachment relationship style will be more likely to report reluctance or delay in consulting their GP about OC symptoms, compared to women with a secure or insecure anxious style. This could lead to a GP intervention targeted at women with an attachment relationship style that adversely impacts on their help-seeking behaviour, encouraging them to seek medical advice promptly.
The secondary aims of the study are to investigate whether an individual with a close relationship to a patient recruited with OC (1) may influence the patient’s help-seeking as a result of their own attachment relationship style and (2) is able to accurately identify the relationship style of the patient. These findings will inform a planned after-death survey with the next-of-kin of women who die soon after their OC diagnosis.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/YH/1257
Date of REC Opinion
4 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion