Chinese-Australian women's beliefs about cancer: implications for health promotion

Ethnicity and culture play significant roles in determining how an individual is likely to understand and explain cancer, which, in turn, is posited to have an impact on cancer screening behavior. Chinese women in Western countries are consistently reported to have low participation rates in mammographic screening. This may be related to the fact that women of Chinese ancestry have different images and beliefs about cancer, which can have implications for participation in health promotion programs regarding cancer prevention and early detection. To investigate this issue, a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 20 Chinese-Australian women was conducted. Embedded in the women's images of cancer were notions associated with fear, mystery, contagion, and stigma. Based on information provided by the women who participated in this study, 6 domains of folk explanations about the causes of cancer were identified: lifestyle, stress, environment, genes, unknown causes, and destiny. These beliefs should be considered in the design of breast health promotion programs because they are likely to have a bearing on Chinese-Australian women's attitudes regarding the value they perceive of cancer screening.