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Socio-demographic Factors and Cancer Screening Among Foreign-Born Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese Women

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Abstract

Asian Americans are now the most rapidly growing minority group in the USA. Over 60 % Asian Americans in the USA are immigrants. Cancer has been the leading cause of death among Asian American women since 1980. Understanding the barriers to screening is essential to reduce the unnecessary burden of cancer. Little is known about cancer screening behaviors among foreign-born Asian women and how socio-demographic factors may influence these behaviors. Even less is known about disaggregated Asian subgroups. Using data from the Chicago Asian Community Survey, a local health assessment survey of three Asian subgroups in Chicago, Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian, this study found that breast and cervical cancer screening rates were much lower among foreign-born Asian women, 48 and 49 %, respectively, than the national rates for the general population, 72 and 83 %, respectively. Furthermore, we studied disaggregated data to determine cancer screening differences between communities. Findings from this study provide a critical evidence base to inform future research, policy and targeted interventions for Asian ethnic-specific populations.

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Acknowledgments

The CACS project was funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Chicago Community Trust, and Research Retirement Foundation. We thank Chinese American Services league, Cambodian Association of Illinois and Chinese Mutual Aid Association for their cooperation and feedback in developing the survey instrument, their recruitment of participants, and their assistance with survey interviews. We also thank the Sinai Urban Health institute (SUHI) Institutional Review Board for ensuring ethical review of the project. We thank all participants for their time and sharing personal information about their health and well-being.

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  1. The University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, 5841 South Maryland Ave, MC4080, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Karen E. Kim & Helen Y. Lam

  2. Asian Health Coalitions, 180 W. Washington, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60602, USA

    Edwin Chandrasekar

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  1. Karen E. Kim
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Correspondence to Helen Y. Lam.

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Kim, K.E., Chandrasekar, E. & Lam, H.Y. Socio-demographic Factors and Cancer Screening Among Foreign-Born Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese Women. Race Soc Probl 6, 4–14 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-014-9119-0

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