| Learning Objective #1: Describe the meanings of the female breast and breast cancer screening in Korean immigrant women | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify cross-cultural differences in perception of the female breast and breast cancer screening |
Objective: This project explored the meanings of the female breast and breast cancer screenings among Korean immigrant women (KIW).
Conceptual Framework: The cultural models theory from cognitive anthropology framed the project. Within the model, individuals’ perception and reaction to their everyday lives are generated from shared interpretive schemes. The main variables extracted from the framework were shared meanings of the female breast, breast cancer, and breast cancer screening in KIW.
Design: A cross-sectional qualitative approach was used, employing a focus group design and data collection at a single time point.
Sample and Setting: Five KIW participated in this study. These women were single, aged between 25 and 30. All the women had lived in the U.S. more than ten years.
Methods: The focus group lasted one and a half hours and was conducted in Korean. The narrative was recorded and transcribed in Korean, and subsequently translated into English for coding. Themes were extracted from the data using constant comparative technique.
Findings: The meanings of breast were: breast-feeding mother, balance in size, and shyness. Indifference, fear, and uncertainty were meanings found in discussion of breast cancer. Notably, none of the participants had breast cancer at the time of interview. Lack of knowledge and culturally bound modest attitudes toward cancer screenings prevailed in the focus group data.
Conclusions: Meanings of breast and breast cancer in KIW are constructed in relation to gendered social roles and cultural values of modesty that are juxtaposed against indifference or fear of breast cancer.
Implications: The interrelationship of culture, society, and health care around the meanings of breast and breast cancer in KIW represents a challenge in achieving breast cancer screenings. These findings suggest avenues for further research and for reshaping practice initiatives that reach out to KIW.
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