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Understanding the Chinese Hui Ethnic Minority's Information Seeking on Cardiovascular Diseases: A Focus Group Study
Lei Yang1, Yuping Mao2, Jeroen Jansz3
1Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture, Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands. yang@eshcc.eur.nl.
Insights
The Hui ethnic minority needs better access to cardiovascular disease (CVD) health information. They prefer credible online and TV sources and desire targeted communication programs.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Communication
- Minority Health
Background:
- The Hui ethnic minority in China, an Islamic group, faces a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs).
- Effective preventive healthcare for the Hui relies on accessible health information, yet they encounter significant barriers in obtaining it.
- Understanding their specific needs is crucial for improving health outcomes within this demographic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the information needs of the Hui people regarding cardiovascular disease (CVD) information sources.
- To explore how the Hui community accesses and prefers to receive health information related to CVD.
- To uncover barriers hindering the Hui minority from obtaining vital health information.
Main Methods:
- Conducted six focus groups with members of the Hui ethnic minority in Shenyang City.
- Gathered qualitative data on their media consumption and information-seeking behaviors for CVD.
- Analyzed participant feedback on preferred information sources and communication strategies.
Main Results:
- The internet and television emerged as the most prominent sources for CVD information among participants.
- Hui individuals expressed a strong desire for credible, professional, and targeted health information.
- Participants reported feeling overlooked by mainstream Chinese media, creating obstacles to accessing health information.
Conclusions:
- There is a clear need for culturally tailored and accessible health communication programs for the Hui minority concerning CVD.
- Addressing the information gap requires engaging diverse media channels and ensuring information credibility.
- Future interventions should focus on overcoming media barriers and empowering the Hui community with essential CVD knowledge.
Abstract:
The Chinese Hui ethnic minority group is an Islamic minority. The Hui people comprise the third largest minority population in China and are widely distributed throughout the country. Previous research shows that the Hui had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) than most other ethnic groups. Therefore, the availability of health information relating to these factors is especially important for the Hui minority's preventive healthcare. They do, however, experience difficulties in obtaining health-related information. The current research aims to identify the needs of the Hui people on where and how they obtain cardiovascular disease (CVD) related information from the media and other sources. Six focus groups were conducted in Shenyang City. The results revealed that the participants relied on different sources to get advice about CVDs, of which the internet and television were the most prominent ones. The participants expressed a desire for credible and professional information from different sources and asked for mediated health communication programs specifically targeted at the Hui. In addition, the participants felt ignored by the Chinese mainstream media at large, which created barriers for them to get health information.
