The meaning of cancer for Australian Aboriginal women; changing the focus of cancer nursing.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to explore why Aboriginal women participate in cancer screening programs but appear reluctant to following-up results, or accept medical advice about treatment.


METHODS
Interpretive ethnography, a qualitative methodology, was used to explore Aboriginal women's perception of cancer, and the cultural context in which meaning was constructed and influenced treatment decision. Data collection, which occurred over two years, involved fieldwork, participant-observation, face-to-face interviews and focus groups, in two rural Aboriginal communities. Forty eight interviews were recorded from a cross section of the communities, including cancer survivors and patients, family members, health care providers and other women from the community.


RESULTS
Key findings were that Aboriginal women's had a fearful and fatalistic attitude toward cancer, doubted the efficacy of treatment and carried an enduring ambivalence toward the authority of whiteman's medicine. The women faced a dilemma of wanting access to cancer treatment options but feared entering hospital or clinics not attuned to their cultural needs.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings highlight the need for a culture-centred approach that decentres the authority of conventional services and instead gives prominence to Aboriginal cultural values as a focal point in cancer control. It should be the responsibility of cancer nurses and others to engage with their local Aboriginal communities to build relationships that foster an exchange of learning about cultural differences that make a difference to how cancer control is practiced.
Prior
Deborah
D
Queensland University of Technology, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove 4059, Queensland, Australia. d.prior@qut.edu.au
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001828:Body Image; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054521:Cultural Competency; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011793:Queensland; D012424:Rural Population; D029181:Spirituality; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*