title: Beliefs about causes of colon cancer by English-as-a-Second-Language Chinese immigrant women to Canada.
abstract: Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for Canadians. Immigrants underutilize screening and may be at greater risk of late stage diagnosis and death from the disease. This mixed-methods study investigated the self-reported causes of colon cancer by 66 English-as-a-Second-Language Chinese immigrant women to Canada after reading a fact sheet which listed two causes of colon cancer (polyps and cause unknown) and six ways to help prevent colon cancer (lifestyle, diet, weight, smoking, alcohol, and screening). Women correctly named or described both causes (6.1%) or one cause (22.7%), could not name or describe either cause (19.7%), or named or described causes not included on the fact sheet (54.5%). The most common causes reported by participants were "risk factors": diet (53.0%), family history (28.8%), and lifestyle (22.7%). Women confused cause with risk factor and infrequently mentioned screening. Possible reasons for their reported beliefs are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3G1.
authors.forename: Jennifer Elizabeth
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: McWhirter
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoffman-Goetz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002170:Canada; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003469:Culture; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D019303:Multilingualism; D012307:Risk Factors