Psycho-Oncology
Volume 24, Issue 8, 2015, Pages 919-925

Utilisation of psychosocial and informational services in immigrant and non-immigrant German cancer survivors (Article)

Zeissig S.R. , Singer S.* , Koch L. , Zeeb H. , Merbach M. , Bertram H. , Eberle A. , Schmid-Höpfner S. , Holleczek B. , Waldmann A. , Arndt V.
  • a Cancer Registry of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz, Germany
  • b Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Centre, Mainz, Germany
  • c Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
  • d Leibniz Institute of Prevention Research and Epidemiology, Bremen, Germany, Health Sciences Bremen, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
  • e Association of Bi-national Families and Relationships, Berlin, Germany
  • f Cancer Registry North Rhine-Westphalia, Münster, Germany
  • g Bremen Cancer Registry, Bremen, Germany
  • h Cancer Registry Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
  • i Saarland Cancer Registry, Saarbrücken, Germany
  • j University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Lübeck, Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Lübeck, Germany
  • k Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

Abstract

Objective We examined psychosocial and informational services used by long-term survivors of breast, colon and prostate cancer in immigrants versus non-immigrants. Methods Patients were sampled from population-based cancer registries in Germany. They completed a questionnaire assessing immigration biography, service use and socio-demographic characteristics. Results Data of 6143 cancer survivors were collected of whom 383 (6%) were immigrants. There was no evidence of an association between immigration status and service use. However, immigration biography played a role when patients' and their parents' birthplace were taken into account. When parents were born outside Europe, survivors less frequently used information from the Internet (OR<inf>adj</inf> 0.4, 95% CI 0.2; 0.8). Web-based information (OR<inf>adj</inf> 0.7, 95% CI 0.5; 0.9) was less frequently used when the participant was born outside Germany. Conclusion The differences in the use of psychosocial and informational services between immigrants and non-immigrants seem to be generally small. Acculturation may play a role in service uptake. In survey-based health services research, investigators should not stratify by census-defined immigration status, but rather by cultural background. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Author Keywords

cancer Ethnicity healthcare use Immigration Oncology

Index Keywords

Germany Prostatic Neoplasms immigrant Europe neoplasm Neoplasms human epidemiology survivor middle aged birthplace immigration Survivors statistics and numerical data health service Colonic Neoplasms German (citizen) colon tumor Aged information service Internet psychosocial care Information Services Surveys and Questionnaires Humans migrant Breast Neoplasms psychology cancer survivor male Emigrants and Immigrants breast tumor Acculturation female questionnaire cultural factor medical information Article health care utilization major clinical study adult utilization Health Services Misuse prostate tumor
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84937815916&doi=10.1002%2fpon.3742&partnerID=40&md5=c5d112be568cc70e01ffdc36d18586a7
DOI: 10.1002/pon.3742
ISSN: 10579249
Cited by: 3
Original Language: English