Predicting Breast and Colon Cancer Screening Among English-as-a-Second-Language Older Chinese Immigrant Women to Canada

Abstract

Little is known about the cancer screening behaviors of older ESL Chinese immigrant women. To explore predictors of colon and breast cancer screening in this population, 103 Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking immigrant women ages 50 years and older were recruited. Participants completed questionnaires to evaluate screening behaviors, health literacy, and demographic characteristics. Eighty-five percent self-reported that they were current breast cancer screeners, and 75% were current colon cancer screeners. Recommendation from a physician, having a female physician, and high or moderate proficiency in English predicted current mammography screening. Physician recommendation, first language, and self-efficacy predicted use of colon cancer screening. Bivariate analyses also revealed an association between use of colon cancer screening and greater health literacy and longer residency in Canada. Important predictors of screening emerged that potentially informs interventions to increase cancer prevention among older Chinese immigrants. The essential role of physician recommendation was identified for both breast and colon cancer screening.

Determinants of participation in colorectal cancer screening among community-dwelling Chinese older people: Testing a comprehensive model using a descriptive correlational study

“…Compared with studies conducted in comparative age groups in the Chinese population, the participation rate in the present study was similar to that reported in the Hong Kong and Singapore studies (24.5%e26.5%) (Ng et al, 2007;So et al, 2012) but lower than that in the US and Canadian studies (34.7%e75%) (Ma et al, 2012;Sun et al, 2004;Todd et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2006;Yip et al, 2006). The difference in the participation rates might be because CRC screening is opportunistic in the Asian region while it is programmatic in the USA and Canada as financial support is frequently reported as a barrier in the literature (Beydoun and Beydoun, 2008;Guessous et al, 2010).…”

“…Information regarding the determinants of CRC screening behavior in Chinese populations, however, is scarce. A few studies have been conducted in such populations but none of them has targeted older people and most have focused solely on demographic and health-related variables (Cai et al, 2009;Leung et al, 2012aLeung et al, , 2012bMa et al, 2012;So et al, 2012;Sung et al, 2008;Todd et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2006;Yip et al, 2006). Clearly, little is known about CRC screening participation rates and associated factors among Chinese older people.…”

Identifying Women's Knowledge about Risk Factors of Breast Cancer and Reasons for Having Mammography

“…Women with a higher educational level were more likely to know about breast self-examination (BSE), to know about mammograms, and to practice BSE compared with those with a lower educational level (Rasu et al, 2011). Similar to this finding of this study, the previous studies indicate that more the level of educational background, higher the level of use of the breast cancer screening methods (López-de-Andrés et al, 2010;Park et al, 2011;Todd et al, 2011).…”

Comparing Written and Oral Measures of Comprehension of Cancer Information by English-as-a-Second-Language Chinese Immigrant Women

“…Participants (n=29) were part of a larger study examining cancer screening utilization and comprehension of colon cancer information [18,19]. Of the original study participants 37 were eligible for inclusion in this study; however, women who refused to be audio-recorded (n=4), did not have time to complete the interview (n=2) or refused to answer interview questions in English (n=2) were excluded from analysis.…”