Cancer coverage in a mainstream and Korean American online newspaper: lessons for community intervention

A Moderating Role of Gender in Online Health Information Seeking Behaviors for Colorectal Cancer Knowledge among Korean Americans Aged 50 to 75 Years

Korean Americans have consistently reported the underutilization of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, despite their high rates of CRC incidence and mortality. Research has indicated suboptimal CRC knowledge in Korean Americans as one of the main barriers to their recommended CRC screening. Also, research has shown the potential of online health information seeking (OHIS) to improving cancer knowledge and the gender-based differences in the link between OHIS and cancer knowledge. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association between OHIS and CRC knowledge and the moderating effect of gender in this association among Korean Americans. A cross-sectional survey with purposive sampling was conducted of 421 Korean Americans aged 50 to 75 years in the Southeastern U.S. Three-step hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to investigate if three blocks of variables-Block 1: control variables (sociodemographics and health-related information), Block 2: independent variables (OHIS and gender), and Block 3: an (OHIS × gender) interaction term-significantly reduce unexplained variance in CRC knowledge. The analyses showed that the final model fits best accounting for 29.3% of the variance in CRC knowledge. Also, the analyses showed that OHIS was positively associated with CRC knowledge and gender moderated the association between OHIS and CRC knowledge. The findings close the knowledge gap existing in the body of literature on the connection of OHIS to CRC knowledge in Korean Americans. Findings also extend the understanding of gender-specific approaches leveraging OHIS for CRC prevention education among Korean Americans.

Cancer Control Continuum in Korean American Community Newspapers: What Is the Association with Source Nationality-US vs. Korea?

Prior research suggests that cancer information obtained from Korean American community media, which are the primary health information sources among the population, does not connect to Korean Americans' increased cancer knowledge or cancer protective/detective behavior. We aim to identify the reason by analyzing cancer type, cancer control continuum, and cancer topic presented in Korean American community newspapers. The nationality of news source, US and Korea, and its association with the cancer coverage were examined. We found that among articles that cited any source, nearly one third used a source from Korea. The source nationality was associated with cancer coverage. In particular, cancer risk factors and screening were more likely to be discussed when a US source was cited as compared to when no source was cited. Korean sources were never or rarely observed in articles focusing on a few cancer sites (e.g., breast and prostate, which Korean Americans have higher risks compared to native Koreans), cancer preventive behaviors (diet, physical activity, no smoking), and specific cancer detection methods (mammogram, pap-smear). We suggest Korean American media to reflect the cancer priority and information needs among Korean Americans, which are varied from native Koreans, and to acknowledge the differences in cancer prevention and detection guidelines between the U.S. and Korean healthcare system. Also, the U.S. government should disseminate cancer screening and prevention guidelines, customized to racial/ethnic groups' cancer prevalence and communication preference.

Cancer Information Seeking Behaviors of Korean American Women: A Mixed-Methods Study Using Surveys and Focus Group Interviews

Despite the high risk of cancer to the population, Korean Americans are known to have lower knowledge about cancer related information and a lower level of adherence to cancer prevention guidelines. This indicates the necessity of cancer interventions targeting the Korean American population. To reach this population effectively, it is imperative to understand Korean Americans' cancer information seeking behaviors. This study (a) identified cancer information sources that are trusted and used by Korean American women and (b) examined how general media exposure and trust in cancer information sources are related to the use of these sources. It also (c) explored perceived usefulness and limitations of cancer information sources. A mixed methods study using seven focus group interviews with 34 Korean American women and surveys with 152 Korean American women was conducted in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area from 2011 to 2012. The results indicate that Korean American women viewed health care professionals as the most trusted cancer information source but used the Internet and Korean ethnic media more often for cancer information seeking because of language, cultural, and economic barriers. Korean American women were most likely to obtain cancer information from media they used frequently for general purposes. Correlations between usage frequency and trust in doctor/health providers and the Internet as cancer information sources were negligible. When seeking cancer information, important factors for Korean American women were accessibility, affordability, and language proficiency, cultural sensitivity, meeting immediate needs, understandability, convenience, and reliability of cancer information sources. Findings from this study support developing interventions using Korean language media, including print, television and the Internet for health promotion and cancer prevention targeting Korean American women.

Framing risks and benefits of medical tourism: a content analysis of medical tourism coverage in Korean American community newspapers

This study examines Korean American community newspapers' representation of risks and benefits involved with medical tourism offered in Korea. Using framing theory, this research attempts to explain Korean Americans' highly positive perceptions and high willingness to use health and medical services in Korea through medical tourism rather than using such services in the United States. The result of content analyses indicated that Korean American community newspapers are rarely engaged in risk communication and lack sufficient information about potential risks of medical tourism while emphasizing diverse benefits. Korean ethnic media, as the primary source of health communication for Korean Americans, should provide more reliable health and medical information for the population's appropriate health management.

The role of social support and social networks in health information-seeking behavior among Korean Americans: a qualitative study

Introduction

This study used social network theory to explore the role of social support and social networks in health information–seeking behavior among Korean American (KA) adults.

Methods

A descriptive qualitative study using a web-based online survey was conducted from January 2013 to April 2013 in the U.S. The survey included open-ended questions about health information–seeking experiences in personal social networks and their importance in KA adults. Themes emerging from a constant comparative analysis of the narrative comments by 129 of the 202 respondents were analyzed.

Results

The sample consisted of 129 KA adults, 64.7% female, with a mean age of 33.2 (SD = 7.7). Friends, church members, and family members were the important network connections for KAs to obtain health information. KAs looked for a broad range of health information from social network members, from recommendations and reviews of hospitals/doctors to specific diseases or health conditions. These social networks were regarded as important for KAs because there were no language barriers, social network members had experiences similar to those of other KAs, they felt a sense of belonging with those in their networks, the network connections promoted increased understanding of different health care systems of the U.S. system, and communication with these network connections helped enhance feelings of being physically and mentally healthy.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the important role that social support and personal social networks perform in the dissemination of health information for a large ethnic population, KAs, who confront distinct cultural challenges when seeking health information in the U.S. Data from this study also illustrate the cultural factors that influence health information acquisition and access to social support for ethnic minorities. This study provides practical insights for professionals in health information services, namely, that social networks can be employed as a channel for disseminating health information to immigrants.

Mobile phone text messaging intervention for cervical cancer screening: changes in knowledge and behavior pre-post intervention

Background

Cervical cancer poses a significant threat to Korean American women, who are reported to have one of the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in the United States. Studies consistently report that Korean American women have the lowest Pap test screening rates across US ethnic groups.

Objective

In response to the need to enhance cervical cancer screening in this vulnerable population, we developed and tested a 7-day mobile phone text message-based cervical cancer Screening (mScreening) intervention designed to promote the receipt of Pap tests by young Korean American women.

Methods

We developed and assessed the acceptability and feasibility of a 1-week mScreening intervention to increase knowledge of cervical cancer screening, intent to receive screening, and the receipt of a Pap test. Fogg’s Behavior Model was the conceptual framework that guided the development of the mScreening intervention. A series of focus groups were conducted to inform the development of the intervention. The messages were individually tailored for each participant and delivered to them for a 7-day period at each participant’s preferred time. A quasi-experimental research design of 30 Korean American women aged 21 to 29 years was utilized with baseline, post (1 week after the completion of mScreening), and follow-up (3 months after the completion of mScreening) testing.

Results

Findings revealed a significant increase in participants’ knowledge of cervical cancer (P<.001) and guidelines for cervical cancer screening (P=.006). A total of 23% (7/30) (95% CI 9.9-42.3) of the mScreening participants received a Pap test; 83% (25/30) of the participants expressed satisfaction with the intervention and 97% (29/30) reported that they would recommend the program to their friends, indicating excellent acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence of the effectiveness and feasibility of the mScreening intervention. Mobile technology is a promising tool to increase both knowledge and receipt of cervical cancer screening. Given the widespread usage of mobile phones among young adults, a mobile phone-based health intervention could be a low-cost and effective method of reaching populations with low cervical cancer screening rates, using individually tailored messages that cover broad content areas and overcome restrictions to place and time of delivery.

Health information seeking and the World Wide Web: an uncertainty management perspective

Uncertainty management theory was applied in the present study to offer one theoretical explanation for how individuals use the World Wide Web to acquire health information and to help better understand the implications of the Web for information seeking. The diversity of information sources available on the Web and potential to exert some control over the depth and breadth of one's information-acquisition effort is argued to facilitate uncertainty management. A total of 538 respondents completed a questionnaire about their uncertainty related to cancer prevention and information-seeking behavior. Consistent with study predictions, use of the Web for information seeking interacted with respondents' desired level of uncertainty to predict their actual level of uncertainty about cancer prevention. The results offer evidence that respondents who used the Web to search for cancer information were better able than were respondents who did not seek information to achieve a level of uncertainty commensurate with the level of uncertainty they desired.

The influences of immigration on health information seeking behaviors among Korean Americans and Native Koreans

Korean Americans (KAs) have low screening rates for cancer and are often not well informed about their chronic diseases. Reduced access to health-related information is one reason for gaps in knowledge and the widening health disparities among minority populations. However, little research exists about KAs' health information seeking behaviors. Guided by the Structural Influence Model, this study examines the influence of immigration status on KAs' trust in health information sources and health information seeking behaviors. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as well as in the Gwangju metropolitan city in South Korea during 2006-2007. Two hundred and fifty-four KAs and 208 native Koreans who were 40 years of age or older completed the surveys. When comparing native Koreans to KAs, we found KAs were 3 times more likely to trust health information from newspapers or magazines (odds ratio [OR] = 3.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.49-6.54) and 11 times more likely to read the health sections of newspapers or magazines (OR = 11.35; 95% CI = 3.92-32.91) in multivariate adjusted models. However, they were less likely to look for health information from TV (OR = 0.29; 95% CI = 0.12-0.72) than native Koreans. Our results indicate that immigration status has profound influences on KAs' health information seeking behaviors. Increasing the availability of reliable and valid health information from printed Korean language magazines or newspapers could have a positive influence on increasing awareness and promoting screening behaviors among KAs.

Online cancer news: trends regarding article types, specific cancers, and the cancer continuum

The Internet is one of the fastest growing news sources for many worldwide (Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2011), and cancer news is one frequently consumed form of online health information (Google, Inc., 2007). This content analysis of online cancer news (n = 862) retrieved from the four most frequented news websites describes trends regarding specific cancers, stages in the cancer continuum, and types of news articles. In general, treatment information received the most attention in online cancer news. Breast cancer received the most attention of each specific cancer, followed by digestive and genitourinary cancers. Research reports and profiles of people (more than 60% of which were about celebrities) were the most common article types. Risk, uncertainty, and clinical trials were also present across several types of cancer news articles. Implications of content trends are discussed as relevant to consumers, producers, health campaign designers, and researchers alike.

Cancer information seeking and awareness of cancer information sources among Korean Americans

Many Korean Americans (KAs) suffer high cancer incidence levels and have low cancer screening rates. A significant number of KAs lack adequate information about cancer screening tests. However, little is known about the health information seeking behaviors of KAs. This study examines the types of cancer information searched for, the cancer information seeking experiences, and the awareness of major cancer information sources, such as the National Cancer Institutes (NCI) and the NCI's Cancer Information Service, among KAs. It also examines associations with demographic characteristics and media use influencing variations in the awareness of cancer information sources. Data for this study were gathered with a cross-sectional, community-based survey (254 KAs). The survey results indicated that KA's involvement in cancer information seeking is relatively low, and they have somewhat negative experiences in seeking cancer information. In addition, their awareness of cancer information sources was limited. Despite of the heavy use of Korean ethnic media, it did not connect to cancer information source awareness. Rather, use of US mainstream media was significantly related with awareness. Campaigns using the Korean language through partnerships with Korean ethnic media to inform KAs about credible sources of health information appear to be warranted by our findings.

Cancer Patients Versus Cancer Survivors: Social and Emotional Consequences of Word Choice

Two studies examined the social and emotional implications of different linguistic classifications of individuals with cancer. Undergraduates were randomly assigned to rate their reactions to either cancer patients or cancer survivors. Across studies, participants held more favorable perceptions of the character of cancer survivors relative to cancer patients and displayed more positive attitudes toward the former group. In addition, participants in Study 1 reported greater willingness to interact with cancer survivors compared with cancer patients. Positive perceptions of prognosis did not appear to account for favorable attitudes toward cancer survivors; most participants in Study 2 did not assume that cancer survivors were beyond the treatment phase of their illness or cured of their disease. Findings point to a potentially powerful effect of word choice on reactions to individuals with cancer.

Comprehensive analysis of cancer coverage in important Chinese newspapers between 2000 and 2007

GOALS OF WORK

Nowadays China has the largest population in the world. A recent epidemiology investigation has shown that cancer is the main cause of mortality, ahead of heart and cerebrovascular diseases. However, the information from Chinese newspaper reports on cancer is not completely clear. The present study is, therefore, designed to investigate the number and content of published news stories focused on cancers from 2000 to 2007 in China main newspapers.

METHODS

A content analysis was performed on cancer articles in a database of important Chinese newspapers, with "cancer" or "leukemia" in title taken as keywords.

MAIN RESULTS

The total 7,643 of 7,903,117 articles were about cancer from 2000 to 2007. The number of published articles related to cancer every year increased on the whole. Women's cancers, such as breast cancer and cervical cancer, garner more attention than other carcinomas. Prevention and treatment were always the main points in cancer-related articles.

CONCLUSIONS

In the past eight years, Chinese main newspapers have significantly increased the number of cancer-related reports and paid more attention to women's cancers.