Cancer texts in the United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa: Eliminating health disparities through intercultural networks

B13

Cancer communications are impacted by the culture of a particular country that each possesses specific acceptable ideals and practices based upon history, politics, or social constructs. This cancer communications research can be applied to determining potential intercultural cancer communication opportunities amongst international cancer organizations--all conducted in an effort to improve the public’s health practices, cancer awareness, and eliminate health disparities. The following research questions address the oversights in current research that do not adequately address cultural communication practices pertaining to cancer communication:
 How do US cancer communications compare to those of the UK and South Africa?
 How can the US benefit from the cancer communication practices of the UK and South Africa?
 How can the UK and South Africa benefit from the cancer communication practices of the US?
 Public texts, including annual reports and information releases, from the American Cancer Society (ACS), Cancer Research UK, and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) were examined through qualitative content analysis. Data collection categories emerged from the analysis of the cancer communications at these cancer prevention-based organizations that address the research questions. Text content, themes, terminology, and tone guide the cancer communications in each respective country according to the culture and communication practices therein.
 The ACS and Cancer Research UK communications have many commonalities, although each exercises unique cancer communication qualities. CANSA public texts possess a drastic difference in the cancer communications content, text, tone, and themes. This demonstrates the opportunity for intercultural organization networks to improve health disparities in this country and others. The content analysis of cancer communications in US, UK and South Africa creates the opportunity for improvement within organizations in other influential African countries with major health disparities, such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
 Future study of US, UK, and South Africa cancer communications can include applying hermeneutics to public text analysis. The cultural and social circumstances of each country permeate the cancer communications and the analyses could be further explained through the application of hermeneutics. This form of analysis could supply an overall context for the data as well as provide additional reasons for the differences in cancer communications by country and culture. The cancer communications research will be also expanded by sampling texts from additional cancer-related entities such as research universities and government to yield additional qualitative and quantitative analyses.