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Attitudes and information needs of Chinese migrant cancer patients and their relatives

Huang X, Butow P, Meiser B, Goldstein D

Aust N Z J Med, 1999 Apr;29(2):207-13.
PMID: 10342019

BACKGROUND: The information needs of ethnic minorities often differ from that of the dominant culture, leading to dissatisfaction among both patients and health professionals.
AIMS: This research project aims to identify attitudes towards cancer and associated information and communication needs of Chinese patients and their relatives in Sydney, thereby providing a framework for the provision of culturally appropriate cancer care for Chinese-Australians.
METHODS: A qualitative data collection strategy was selected as the most appropriate method, because no validated measures are available and no previous research has examined attitudes and needs of Chinese-Australian cancer patients. Patients were recruited from three major teaching hospitals in Sydney and from a Chinese cancer support organisation. Sampling was discontinued when informational redundancy was achieved. Four focus groups and 26 individual telephone interviews were conducted with a total of 36 cancer patients and 12 relatives born in China, Singapore and Malaysia.
RESULTS: While individual differences were observed, a majority view was expressed on a range of issues. Non-disclosure of a poor prognosis was favoured, and the role of the family in liaising between health professionals and the patient was emphasised. Patients preferred a confident and clear diagnosis and treatment recommendation. Most patients wished to incorporate Chinese culture-specific treatments into their care. The need for interpreters and psychological and spiritual support was emphasised.
CONCLUSIONS: Providing information in a culturally sensitive manner will assist doctors in providing optimum care and support for ethnic minority groups in this country.

Matched MeSH terms: Family/ethnology
Sociocultural influences on strategies to lose weight, gain weight, and increase muscles among ten cultural groups

McCabe MP, Busija L, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Ricciardelli L, Mellor D, Mussap A

Body Image, 2015 Jan;12:108-14.
PMID: 25497878 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.10.008

This study determined how sociocultural messages to change one's body are perceived by adolescents from different cultural groups. In total, 4904 adolescents, including Australian, Chilean, Chinese, Indo-Fijian, Indigenous Fijian, Greek, Malaysian, Chinese Malaysian, Tongans in New Zealand, and Tongans in Tonga, were surveyed about messages from family, peers, and the media to lose weight, gain weight, and increase muscles. Groups were best differentiated by family pressure to gain weight. Girls were more likely to receive the messages from multiple sociocultural sources whereas boys were more likely to receive the messages from the family. Some participants in a cultural group indicated higher, and others lower, levels of these sociocultural messages. These findings highlight the differences in sociocultural messages across cultural groups, but also that adolescents receive contrasting messages within a cultural group. These results demonstrate the difficulty in representing a particular message as being characteristic of each cultural group.

Matched MeSH terms: Family/ethnology
A descriptive study of nasogastric tube feeding among geriatric inpatients in Malaysia: utilization, complications, and caregiver opinions

Nordin N, Kamaruzzaman SB, Chin AV, Poi PJ, Tan MP

J Nutr Gerontol Geriatr, 2015;34(1):34-49.
PMID: 25803603 DOI: 10.1080/21551197.2014.998326

The strong emphasis on feeding in Asian cultures may influence decisions for nasogastric (NG) tube feeding in geriatric inpatients. We evaluated the utility, complications, and opinions of caregivers toward NG tube feeding in an acute geriatric ward in a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Consecutive patients aged 65 years and older receiving NG tube feeding were included. Sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory indices were recorded. Opinion on NG tube feeding were evaluated through face-to-face interviews with caregivers, recruited through convenience sampling. Of 432 patients admitted, 96 (22%), age ± standard deviation = 80.8 ± 7.4 years, received NG tube feeding. The complication and mortality rates were 69% and 38%, respectively. Diabetes (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 3.34 [1.07, 10.44], aspiration pneumonia (8.15 [2.43, 27.24]), impaired consciousness (3.13 [1.05, 9.36]), and albumin ≤26 g/dl (4.43 [1.46, 13.44]) were independent predictors of mortality. Other relatives were more likely than spouses (23.5 [3.59, 154.2]) and caregivers with tertiary education more likely than those with no formal education ( 18 [1.23, 262.7]) to agree to NG feeding. Sixty-four percent of caregivers felt NG tube feeding was appropriate at the end of life, mostly due to the fear of starvation. NG tube feeding is widely used in our setting, despite high complication and mortality rates, with likely influences from cultural emphasis on feeding.

Matched MeSH terms: Family/ethnology
Respect redefined: focus group insights from Singapore

Mehta K

Int J Aging Hum Dev, 1997;44(3):205-19.
PMID: 9248879

This article re-examines the meaning of the concept of respect within the context of a fast modernizing Asian multicultural society-Singapore. Two key findings emerge. First, the meaning of respect both from the perspective of the aged and the middle-aged generation has shifted from obedience to courteous behavior. Second, in the majority of focus groups members concurred that the degree of respect accorded to elders has in general decreased. The focus group methodology was used in this research. Bearing in mind the limited sample size (88 participants) these findings alert us to the need for social scientists to monitor perceptual shifts in meaning of concepts critical in the sphere of interpersonal relationships. The findings throw light on the subjective views of intergenerational relations within the family as well as the community. As such, they would be valuable to counselors, social workers, and family therapists.

Matched MeSH terms: Family/ethnology*