The identified needs of ethnic minority groups with cancer within the community: a review of the literature

Abstract

The literature suggests that healthcare provision for ethnic minority groups is poorer than for the majority population. The intention of this paper is to review the literature available on healthcare provision for ethnic minority groups to see if this is the case for those with cancer. The introduction in the UK of monitoring of ethnic origins in the general population and healthcare service is recent and means that there are few data available. At present, cancer mortality is lower among ethnic minority groups than the majority population in the UK, which may partly be explained by a younger than average age within the ethnic minority groups and the fact that some members of ethnic groups retire to their country of origin. However, the mortality rates are expected to increase as the population ages. Breast and lung cancers are the most common cancers among ethnic minority groups in the UK. Traditional intervention strategies have been aimed at the majority white population and have not taken into account the needs identified by the ethnic communities themselves. Intervention strategies include advice on stopping smoking and chewing tobacco, increasing use of screening services by ethnic minority groups, targeted health promotion messages and education on cancer specifically for these groups. More data are required on cancer among ethnic minority groups in the UK. There are many similarities in the use of cancer services between ethnic minority groups and individuals with lower socioeconomic status in the UK.

Potential Barriers to Prevention of Cancers and to Early Cancer Detection among Irish People Living in Britain: A Qualitative Study

“…Beliefs about cancer may influence perception of cancer risk and participation in screening programmes, decisions about treatment, doctorÁpatient relationships and emotional responses to the disease (McAvoy & Raza 1991;Health Education Authority 1994;Pfeffer & Moynihan 1996;Womeodu & Bailey 1996;Cooley & Jennings 1998). Most of the research on ethnic differences in cancer beliefs and knowledge refer to African Americans (McAllister & Bowling 1993;Barroso et al 2000;Lodge 2001). The sparse UK evidence to date refers to ethnic minority groups other than the Irish (Kernohan 1996;Chattoo et al 2002).…”

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Accessing cancer services in North West England: the Chinese population

“…Sampling ME groups is difficult; especially the UK Chinese population as they tend to be geographically disperse (Lodge ; Sproston et al . ).…”