Cancer and communication in the health care setting: Experiences of older Vietnamese immigrants, a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: As patients grow older, accurate communication with health care providers about cancer becomes increasingly important. However, little is known about the cancer communication experiences of older Asian immigrants. OBJECTIVE: To learn about the cancer-related communication experiences of older Vietnamese immigrants from the insider perspective. DESIGN: Qualitative study (grounded theory, constant comparative method) using individual interviews with older Vietnamese immigrants with the purpose of discussing how they learn about cancer. Interviews were conducted in Vietnamese. PARTICIPANTS: Vietnamese immigrants aged 5070 years, recruited through community-based organizations. Most had low education and limited English proficiency. The sample size of 20 was sufficient to achieve theoretical saturation. RESULTS: We identified 3 categories of themes concerning informants' experiences with cancer communication in the health care setting: (1) attitudes about addressing screening with providers, (2) issues/ problems communicating with physicians about cancer, and (3) language /translation difficulties. There was substantial overlap between informants who mentioned each theme category, and 40% of the participants mentioned all 3 categories. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of and act upon specific cancer communication needs/challenges of their older immigrant patients. Moreover, health care systems need to be prepared to address the needs of an increasingly multiethnic and linguistically diverse patient population. Finally, community-level interventions should address baseline knowledge deficits while encouraging immigrant patients to engage their doctors in discussions about cancer screening.