Title | Cancer-related information seeking and scanning behavior of older Vietnamese immigrants |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2010 |
Authors | Nguyen, GT, Shungu, NP, Niederdeppe, J, Barg, FK, Holmes, JH, Armstrong, K, Hornik, RC |
Journal | J Health CommunJ Health Commun |
Volume | 15 |
Pagination | 754-68 |
Date Published | Oct |
ISBN Number | 1087-0415 (Electronic)<br/>1081-0730 (Linking) |
Accession Number | 21104504 |
Keywords | African Americans/ psychology/statistics & numerical data, Age Factors, Aged, Communication Barriers, Early Detection of Cancer/utilization, Emigrants and Immigrants/ psychology/statistics & numerical data, European Continental Ancestry Group/ psychology/statistics & numerical data, Female, Humans, Information Seeking Behavior, Language, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms/ ethnology, Qualitative Research, Socioeconomic Factors, Vietnam/ethnology |
Abstract | Information seeking and scanning refers to active pursuit of information and passive exposure, respectively. Cancer is the leading cause of mortality for Asian Americans, yet little is known about their cancer information seeking/scanning behaviors (SSB). We aimed to evaluate cancer SSB among older limited English proficient (LEP) Vietnamese immigrants, compared with Whites/African Americans. One hundred four semistructured interviews about breast/prostate/colon cancer SSB (ages 50-70) were conducted in English and Vietnamese, transcribed, and coded for frequency of source use, active/passive nature, depth of recall, and relevance to decisions. Higher SSB was associated with cancer screening. In contrast to non-Vietnamese, SSB for Vietnamese was low. Median number of cancer screening sources was two (vs. eight to nine for non-Vietnamese). They also had less seeking, lower recall, and less decision-making relevance for information on colon cancer and all cancers combined. Overall, Vietnamese had lower use of electronic, print, and interpersonal sources for cancer SSB, but more research is needed to disentangle potential effects of ethnicity and education. This study brings to light striking potential differences between cancer SSB of older LEP Vietnamese compared with Whites/African Americans. Knowledge of SSB patterns among linguistically isolated communities is essential for efficient dissemination of cancer information to these at-risk communities. |
Ethno Med: