Health Care and Cancer Screening Experience of Chinese Immigrants in New York City: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess the health care and cancer screening experience of Chinese immigrants in New York City and identify health care delivery system barriers to cancer education and screening activities. A qualitative, exploratory research methodology based on a grounded theory approach was used. Thirty-nine low-income and medically underserved Chinese men and women participated in 4 focus group sessions and 14 in-depth interviews. Findings revealed numerous barriers experienced by participants: red tape and bureaucracy in the health care system, provider insensitivity to their concerns, lack of availability in doctor schedule, long waiting time in clinics, and fragmentation of the medical care system. This study highlighted the importance of cultural relevancy and appropriateness in the design and implementation of effective cancer screening programs for this population.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese immigrants
• cancer
• barriers
• qualitative research

The authors thank Dr. Irwin Epstein, Dr. Anthony Sainz, and Dr. Irene Chung for their unwavering support and advice to the design and implementation of this study. We thank the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center for its valuable support and contribution. We want to especially thank Brenda Wan, Elizabeth Luk, Junbo Yuan, Stella GengSheng Lu, and Amy Shek for their assistance in conducting this study.