Developing and validating a measure of Chinese cultural views of health and cancer.
To develop and validate quantitative scales that measure Chinese cultural views about health and cancer, cultural views were assessed by a 30-item scale through telephone interviews with 438 Chinese-American women aged 50 and older. Cultural subscales were identified using principal component analysis and validated by their associations with age at immigration and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening patterns. The overall scale had good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .79). Factor analysis yielded seven cultural subscales-fatalism, hot-cold balance, use of herbs, self-care, medical examination, lifestyle, and Western medicine (alpha = .39 to .82). The majority of the cultural subscales were significantly associated with age at immigration (p < .001). Fatalism, Self-Care, and Medical Examination subscales consistently predicted nonadherence to breast, cervical, and CRC screening recommendations, even after considering other factors. Chinese cultural views consist of at least seven domains and may influence older women's breast, cervical, and CRC screening.
Liang
Wenchi
W
Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. liangw1@georgetown.edu
Wang
Judy H
JH
Chen
Mei-Yuh
MY
Shibao Feng
Lee
Marion
M
Schwartz
Marc D
MD
Pasick
Rena J
RJ
Mandelblatt
Jeanne S
JS
D001213:Asian; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012651:Self Medication; D016387:Women's Health
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal