Hispanics Say Long Lines at Clinics Are Deterent to Cancer Screenings

Long lines at clinics may be keeping some Hispanics from getting the screenings that are key to early detection of colon, breast and cervical cancer, according to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

In their study published in Health Education and Behavior, researchers report that the absence of a family doctor and a sense of fatalism may also contribute to the Hispanic population having lower rates of screening for cancer.

Researchers interviewed 380 people, of which more than 75 percent identified themselves as Mexican-Americans and the majority of whom were farm workers.

Hispanics emphasized a fatalistic approach in their attitudes toward cancer screening, according to the researchers.

Seventy-one percent of Hispanics said they would rather not know if they had cancer, and nearly 55 percent said that cancer was always deadly. More than 47 percent of Hispanics agreed with the statement, "God can punish people by giving them cancer," while only 10 percent of non-Hispanics agreed.

Long lines at clinics was cited as a barrier to receiving care by 58 percent of Hispanics surveyed and 25 percent reported transportation to the clinic as an issue.

Other Sources: Journal of Clinical Oncology