Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Dec;65(12):2574-84.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05155.x.

Do cultural factors predict mammography behaviour among Korean immigrants in the USA?

Hanju Lee  1 , Jiyun Kim, Hae-Ra Han
Affiliations

Do cultural factors predict mammography behaviour among Korean immigrants in the USA?

Hanju Lee et al. J Adv Nurs. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Aim: This paper is a report of a study of the correlates of mammogram use among Korean American women.

Background: Despite the increasing incidence of and mortality from breast cancer, Asian women in the United States of America report consistently low rates of mammography screening. A number of health beliefs and sociodemographic characteristics have been associated with mammogram participation among these women. However, studies systematically investigating cultural factors in relation to mammogram experience have been scarce.

Methods: We measured screening-related health beliefs, modesty and use of Eastern medicine in 100 Korean American women in 2006. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine the unique contribution of the study variables, after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics.

Findings: Only 51% reported past mammogram use. Korean American women who had previously had mammograms were statistically significantly older and had higher perceived benefit scores than those who had not. Perceived benefits (odds ratio = 6.3, 95% confidence interval = 2.12, 18.76) and breast cancer susceptibility (odds ratio = 3.18, 95% confidence interval = 1.06, 9.59) were statistically significant correlates of mammography experience, whereas cultural factors did not correlate. Post hoc analysis showed that for women with some or good English skills, cultural factors statistically significantly correlated with health beliefs and breast cancer knowledge (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Nurses should consider the inclusion in culturally tailored interventions of more targeted outreach and healthcare system navigation assistance for promoting mammography screening in Korean American women. Further research is needed to unravel the interplay between acculturation, cultural factors and health beliefs related to cancer screening behaviours of Korean American women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical framework of the study (adapted from the HBM model)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aiken LS, West SG, Woodward CK, Reno RR. Health beliefs and compliance with mammography screening recommendations in asymptomatic women. Health Psychology. 1994;13:122–129. - PubMed
    1. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts and figures. 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008, from http://www.cancer.org.
    1. Barnes JS, Bennett CE. The Asian population: 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2002.
    1. Barringer H, Gardner RW, Levin MJ. Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. New York: Russell Sage Foundation; 1993.
    1. Bird JA, McPhee SJ, Ha NT, Le B, Davis T, Jenkins CN. Opening pathways to cancer screening for Vietnamese-American women: lay health workers hold a key. Preventive Medicine. 1998;27:821–829. - PubMed

Publication types