Chinese and Vietnamese adult male smokers' perspectives regarding facilitators of tobacco cessation behavior.

INTRODUCTION: National surveys show a low prevalence of tobacco cigarette smoking within the Asian American/Pacific Islander population. However, smoking rates loom higher when data is disaggregated by ethnicity and gender. Nevertheless, few data are available on how smokers in this population quit smoking. The aim of this study was to collect first-hand perspectives from adult male Chinese and Vietnamese current and former smokers who were patients at a community clinic in Seattle, Washington, in order to understand the facilitators toward smoking cessation and the methods that they might use to quit smoking. METHODS: A telephone survey was administered to age-eligible male Chinese and Vietnamese clinic patients who were current or former smokers. A total of 196 Chinese and 198 Vietnamese (N=394) adult male current and former smokers were contacted from a pool culled from the clinic database. RESULTS: Descriptive analysis using SPSS software revealed ethnicity-specific differences between current and former smokers regarding influences on smoking cessation behavior as well as uptake and endorsement of cessation methods. Family encouragement and physician recommendations were significant facilitators on the cessation process. Will power and self-determination were frequently mentioned by both Vietnamese and Chinese smokers as helpful methods to quit smoking. Vietnamese smokers were more resourceful than Chinese smokers in their use of smoking cessation methods. CONCLUSION: Even with access to cessation classes at a health clinic, half of current smokers indicated that they had no intention to quit. Such attitudes underscore the need for promotion of effective smoking cessation programs as well as successful strategies for reaching smokers. These conclusions are particularly important for Chinese smokers, who were comparatively less resourceful in their use of smoking cessation methods. Future studies should explore integrating the concept of will power with current mainstream state-of-the-art smoking cessation programs.

Participation in colorectal cancer screening among Chinese Americans.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the third most common malignant neoplasm worldwide. Chinese Americans are one of the ethnic minority groups who have the lowest rates of CRC screening. The purpose of this study was to describe CRC screening among less acculturated Chinese Americans and to identify factors associated with CRC screening. METHODS: We performed a review of 383 patients' medical records at a large community health clinic in Seattle's metropolitan area between July 2003 and September 2004. Outcome measurements included receiving fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) in the last 12 months, sigmoidoscopy in the previous 5 years and/or colonoscopy in the past 10 years. Compliance with CRC screening was assessed by documentation in patients' medical records. RESULTS: The overall use of CRC screening per guidelines was 40%. Only 72(19%) patients had their FOBT test in the last 12 months. Eighty one patients (21%) had colonoscopy in the last 10 years and eleven (3%) of the patients had sigmoidoscopy in the last 5 years. Chi-square analyses revealed no significant differences between users and non-users of FOBT, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy in terms of age, gender, insurance status or language. DISCUSSION: Participation in CRC screening among less acculturated Chinese Americans was lower than rates derived from previous self-reported surveys. Research of effective preventive programs promoting annual FOBT is vital to increasing the use of CRC screening among this population.