Cancer information seeking behaviors of older Vietnamese immigrants.

B31

Background The NCI's Health Information National Trends Survey indicates that the general public receives cancer information from a broad range of sources, including Internet, television, newspapers, books, pamphlets, doctors and other interpersonal contacts. However, this survey had been performed in English and Spanish only. Little is known about the cancer information seeking behaviors of linguistically disadvantaged immigrant Americans. Methods: One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Vietnamese in a sample of 20 Vietnamese immigrants age 50-70 years (10 male, 10 female). Questions were designed to encourage discussion of cancer-related information seeking, with a focus on prevention and screening. Translated interviews were coded (using QSR N6 software) by multiple reviewers through an iterative process using a grounded theory approach. Results : Respondents described limited understanding of cancer prevention and screening. They expressed desire to learn more but voiced a lack of knowledge about where to look. Common information sources were interpersonal contacts and ethnic newspapers. Some respondents learned from doctors, but in general they did not ask doctors about cancer, because they themselves did not have cancer and felt such discussions to be unnecessary or burdensome to doctors. Though they generally believed in the value of screening, many also felt that screening should be initiated after minor symptoms appear. While many respondents had limited English proficiency, they often mentioned that they were able to create their own interpretations of English-language cancer messages in their environment. Conclusion: Linguistically disadvantaged older Vietnamese immigrants say that they have limited sources of cancer information, despite an interest in learning more. Further, they have misconceptions about appropriate timing of cancer screening. Findings from this study can be applied to the creation of quantitative measures of information seeking behaviors in this population. This, in turn, can lead to development of new health communication interventions to improve cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of this underserved and frequently isolated population of Americans. Researchers also should examine the ways in which limited English proficient Americans find meaning in the English-language health information they encounter.