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A Systematic Literature Review of Cancer Communication with Indigenous Populations in Canada and the United States

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Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among Indigenous populations. Communication campaigns are an important component of cancer prevention and treatment. However, communication about cancer with Indigenous populations has yet to be fully explored and understood. In this systematic literature review, we examine peer-reviewed research to gain insight into the factors that contribute to effective communication about cancer with Indigenous populations. The review yielded a total of 7313 potential articles and a total of 25 of these manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. Results indicate five primary factors that may increase the effectiveness of communication about cancer with Indigenous populations. Factors include the need to (1) respect traditional knowledge, (2) use appropriate language, (3) involve community members in the communication process, (4) include people from different generations in message design, and (5) engender trust in health communicators. Results also provide insight into communication methods that contribute to effective cancer communication. We identify gaps in the literature and provide recommendations for future cancer communication strategies and research with Indigenous populations.

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Notes

  1. Boolean operators were used for this systematic review: ‘AND’ included all the identified keywords; ‘OR’ included any of the identified keywords. While many databases will consider plurals and other word suffixes as a match automatically, the wildcard asterisk increased sensitivity and reduced reliance on this being performed in the same way by varying databases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University, 101 Goertzen Hall, Pullman, WA, 99163, USA

    Amanda D. Boyd & Xiaofei Song

  2. Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences Program, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada

    Chris M. Furgal

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  1. Amanda D. Boyd
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  3. Chris M. Furgal
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Correspondence to Amanda D. Boyd.

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Boyd, A.D., Song, X. & Furgal, C.M. A Systematic Literature Review of Cancer Communication with Indigenous Populations in Canada and the United States. J Canc Educ 36, 310–324 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01630-2

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