Overview

• The review, published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, pooled 92 studies covering 564,497 participants across 25 countries.
• Avoidance varied by condition, reaching 41% for Alzheimer’s and 40% for Huntington’s, compared with 32% for HIV, 29% for cancer, and 24% for diabetes.
• Researchers defined avoidance as actions that delay or prevent learning available medical information, such as skipping appointments or refusing tests.
• Sixteen predictors were identified, with the strongest including cognitive overload, low self-efficacy, fear of stigmatization, and low trust in the medical system.
• Common demographics like gender, race, and ethnicity were not predictors, and the analysis could not assess health outcomes or make direct country comparisons, underscoring the need for follow-up studies and policy trials.