Arab American Immigrants in New York: Health Care and Cancer Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs

• Published in: Journal of immigrant and minority health Vol. 10; no. 5; pp. 429 - 436
• Main Authors: Shah, Susan M., Ayash, Claudia, Pharaon, Nora Alarifi, Gany, Francesca M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.10.2008; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Access; Acculturation; Adult; Aged; Anatomy; Arab Americans; Arab people; Arabs; Arabs - education; Arabs - psychology; Attitudes; Attrition (Research Studies); Barriers; Beliefs; Cancer; Censuses; Community; Community Relations; Comparative Law; Cultural Competency; Culture; Death; Disease prevention; Emigrants and Immigrants - education; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Emigration and Immigration - legislation & jurisprudence; Empowerment; Ethnicity; Female; Females; Focus Groups; Genealogy; Health care; Health care access; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health promotion; Health services; Health Services Accessibility; Healthcare Disparities; Humans; Immigrants; International & Foreign Law; Knowledge; Leukemia; Lung cancer; Male; Males; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Middle Aged; Middle East - ethnology; Minority & ethnic groups; Mortality; Neoplasms - ethnology; Neoplasms - etiology; Noncitizens; Original Paper; Population; Prejudice; Private International Law; Public Health; Qualitative Research; Semitic Languages; Socioeconomic Factors; Sociology; Spirituality; Statistical analysis; Tobacco; Urban Health Services - organization & administration; Urban Health Services - utilization; Womens health; Middle East; United States > US; Middle East; Health care access; Arab; Immigrants; Cancer
• ISSN: 1557-1912; 1557-1920
• DOI: 10.1007/s10903-007-9106-2

Arab immigrants living in the United States total between 1.5 million and 3.5 million, and have been growing in number each decade. New York’s Arab population, at 405,000, ranks third in the U.S. after California and Michigan. Despite the large numbers, little health research has focused on this population. Data about the cancer incidence, mortality, and screening practices of Arab Americans is overwhelmingly lacking. To better understand the health care and cancer knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of Arab American immigrants, five single-gender focus groups were convened with Arab men and women in New York City. Attention was given to factors that act as barriers to utilization of general health care services, and of cancer prevention, treatment, and support services. The data revealed the importance of providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health interventions in partnership with trusted community leaders, and the need for follow-up research of this understudied immigrant population.