Korean Americans' Beliefs about Colorectal Cancer Screening.
- Author:
Shin Young LEE
1
;
Eunice E LEE
Author Information
1. Department of Nursing at Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea. shinyoung0114@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
beliefs;
cancer screening;
colorectal cancer;
culture;
Korean Americans
- MeSH:
Aged;
Asian Americans;
Colorectal Neoplasms;
Early Detection of Cancer;
Emigrants and Immigrants;
Humans;
Mass Screening
- From:Asian Nursing Research
2013;7(2):45-52
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess Korean Americans' (KAs) health and cultural beliefs about colorectal cancer (CRC) and their CRC screening utilization in order to understand how health and cultural beliefs play a role in CRC screening utilization and why KAs have a low rate of CRC screening. METHODS: Face-to-face, individual interviews with 26 Korean immigrants aged 50 and older were conducted in Korean. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions was used to explore participants' health and cultural beliefs about CRC and CRC screening. Recorded audio interviews were transcribed verbatim in Korean and coded using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The themes that emerged from analyzing the individual interview data were: (a) valuing their families before themselves; (b) seeing a doctor only if they have symptoms; (c) believing that they would not get CRC; (d) balancing the will to stay healthy and fatalism; and (e) refusing health information. CONCLUSION: Results show the critical need for in-depth understanding of unique health and cultural beliefs about CRC screening in KAs. These beliefs could be useful for future intervention strategies to change health and cultural beliefs in order to increase CRC screening participation in KAs.
