Attitudes, knowledge, and health-seeking behaviors of five immigrant minority communities in the prevention and screening of cancer: a focus group approach.
Despite an observed decrease in overall cancer death rates in the USA, immigrant minorities continue to experience disproportionately higher cancer incidence and mortality rates. Thirteen focus groups were conducted in the Haitian, English-Speaking Caribbean, Latino, Korean, and Chinese communities of New York City to better understand their health-seeking behaviors with respect to cancer prevention, screening, and treatment. Focus groups addressed the degree to which cultural, linguistic, and systematic barriers impact these behaviors and explored methods to support salutary behaviors. Findings underscored that, while there are many similarities across immigrant groups, there are significant variations between the immigrant groups to necessitate a tailored community-based approach. The prevalent misinformation observed among all groups warrants the prompt development of culturally competent programs for cancer control with immigrant minorities.
Gany
Francesca M
FM
Center for Immigrant Health, NYU School of Medicine, Primary Care Division, New York, NY 10016, USA. fg12@nyu.edu
Herrera
Angelica P
AP
Avallone
Michelle
M
Changrani
Jyotsna
J
D000328:Adult; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors