People with poorer numeracy feel more negative about bowel cancer screening

People with low numeracy may be more likely to feel negative about bowel cancer screening, including fearing an abnormal result, new research has found.

For the study, published in the Journal of Health Psychology,1 researchers sent information about bowel cancer screening to patients aged 45 to 59, along with a questionnaire that assessed their numerical skills and attitudes to screening.

Almost 965 people (of 4452; response rate 22%) from four GP practices in the north of England returned the questionnaire. Of these, nearly half (46%) replied incorrectly to …