Influence of traditional Chinese beliefs on cancer screening behaviour among Chinese‐Australian women

Abstract

Our findings suggest that the effects of breast cancer screening and other health promotion programmes, which are general and do not take account of cultural variations may be compromised when it comes to cultural minorities. In the case of older Chinese-Australian women, breast cancer screening promotion programmes may overcome acceptance of fatalistic philosophy if they emphasize increased risk following immigration.

Roles of Illness Attributions and Cultural Views of Cancer in Determining Participation in Cancer-Smart Lifestyle among Chinese and Western Youth in Australia

“…Chinese participants held stronger beliefs about the influence of Emotions (e.g., anxiety, stress), the Supernatural (e.g., bad luck, pay back for wrong doings), Balance (e.g., imbalance of Yin/Yang), and the Relationship with Others (e.g., Trouble in relationships) as the causes for illness. These beliefs are consistent with TCM and indicate the importance of acknowledging traditional Chinese medicine when delivering health services to this group (Armstrong and Swartzman, 1999;Kwok and Sullivan, 2006a;2006b).…”

“…In order to foster improved lifestyle choices, it is important that beliefs about, and attitudes to the role of behaviour in cancer and other chronic disease causation be addressed (Armstrong and Swartzman, 1999; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, AIHW, 2002;Kwok and Sullivan, 2006b). The difficulty with this goal is alarming to note that the health status of these immigrants tends to decline with time residing in Australia (AIHW, 2002;McCracken et al, 2007).…”

“…Although the role of cultural beliefs in predicting uptake of cancer preventing lifestyle choices remains to be adequately explored, research has documented important differences between different cultural groups on perceptions of health and illness (Chen, 1996;Kwok and Sullivan, 2006b). Among those of Chinese ancestry, there is widespread endorsement of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).…”

“…These fundamental differences in models of illness highlight the importance of attending to cultural influences when attempting to change behaviours linked to disease prevention. Kwok and Sullivan (2006b) also pointed out the importance for addressing and integrating culturally specific health beliefs in health promotion interventions that are oriented towards the Chinese migrants. Other consistent outcomes have been reported; Wang et al (2007) found that after viewing a culturally-tailored video, including physician-recommendations, Chinese women's screening intentions significantly increased and they were less likely to subscribe to an Eastern view of health.…”

“…A large body of literature have furthered this view and suggested that health beliefs, particularly causal explanations for illness, play a crucial role in determining the behavior one chooses to engage in (Chen, 1996;Tang and Easthope, 2000;Kwok and Sullivan, 2006a;2006b). Armstrong and Swartzman (1999) (Chen, 1996), Asian participants were found to more strongly endorse these causal explanations; and were less likely to believe that bacteria and viruses were the causes of illness compared with the Western participants.…”