Korean American Immigrant Women’s Perceived Breast Cancer Risk and Prevention Beliefs: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Introduction: With the goal of informing culturally appropriate intervention strategies, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the Korean American immigrant women’s (KAIW) perceptions of breast cancer risk and how their perceived risk, along with normative breast cancer prevention beliefs, shaped their attitudes toward mammography. Method: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 30 Korean women in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis was used to code and analyze interview data. Results: Two major themes were identified: (a) perceived risk of breast cancer and attitudes to prevention (e.g., worried and using all means of prevention) and (b) influences on attitudes to breast cancer prevention (e.g., family members and friends’ cancer experiences). Discussion: Breast cancer prevention interventions for KAIW should target perceived breast cancer risk, social factors such as women’s family roles and social networks, and health information evaluation skills.

Mammogram Uptake among Korean American Women in the South: Do Health Beliefs Matter?

“…Also, messages representing family members or peers promoting screening may be beneficial. Some KAW get a mammogram because they do not want to put any financial burden/caregiving burdens on their family members if they find cancer at an advanced stage (Lee et al, 2022). Second, women with low perceived susceptibility to breast cancer might have inaccurate information about breast cancer risk factors and breast self-exam (Lee et al, 2022), leading them to feel safe and delay mammogram uptake.…”

“…Some KAW get a mammogram because they do not want to put any financial burden/caregiving burdens on their family members if they find cancer at an advanced stage (Lee et al, 2022). Second, women with low perceived susceptibility to breast cancer might have inaccurate information about breast cancer risk factors and breast self-exam (Lee et al, 2022), leading them to feel safe and delay mammogram uptake. For instance, although accepted in Korea as a screening method, guidelines regarding breast self-exam (BSE) changed in the U.S. since the early 2000s, with BSE being considered an acceptable part of detection among women at average risk (Smith et al, 2003;ACS, 2019).…”

“…A high-risk group of KAW highlighted the importance of regular mammograms and had their first mammogram on average at 37.57 years of age. Comparatively, a low-risk group was more concerned with lifestyle behaviors while paying less attention to regular screenings, and the average age of their first mammogram was 45.33 years old (Lee et al, 2022).…”