Conference to explore impact of culture on cancer care
June 16, 2011
EDMONTON — Representatives from the city’s Chinese, South Asian and Vietnamese communities are taking part in a discussion today on how Alberta Health Services (AHS) can help cancer patients from culturally diverse and immigrant populations navigate the health system.
These individuals will share first-hand insights on how cultural beliefs can affect treatment plans during a session of the Care about Cancer Conference, a three-day event hosted by AHS that starts this morning at the Shaw Conference Centre.
“Cultural beliefs can create challenges and a need for multiple courses of treatment for what can seem a straightforward treatment plan,” says Janice Chobanuk, AHS clinical leader for community oncology.
Some women, for instance, are reluctant to undergo cervical or breast cancer screening, Chobanuk says. Some cultures believe cancer can be caused simply by saying the word, while issues can arise when family members are called upon to act as translators, especially when bad news or uncomfortable information needs to be conveyed.
AHS works with a range of partners to reach out to immigrant and diverse communities, so clinicians can best treat these patients and, when necessary, map out effective alternative treatment plans.
“We work hard to respect a patient’s attitudes and beliefs while not compromising care,” says Chobanuk. “To do this we need to see the health system through the eyes of all of our patients and their families. This conference will be a great chance for all participants to debate how we can best treat patients in a culturally sensitive way.”
AHS is expanding its navigational services to more cancer care facilities and focusing on patient-care pathways, which are used to plot the most efficient course of treatment from beginning to end and to move patients into and through the health system more quickly.
“Language, religion, ethnicity, gender and life experience can all affect how a patient perceives the health care options available to them,” says Josephine Lai, a primary health educator at Edmonton’s ASSIST Community Services Centre, a non-profit organization that provides services (some in partnership with AHS) to Canadian immigrants and their families.
“The more we can do to understand each other’s culture, the more effective their treatment options are going to be.”
Dozens of other sessions are being held at the comprehensive cancer conference, the first of its kind in Alberta to bring together researchers, prevention experts, clinicians and cancer patients and their families at one event.
The Care About Cancer Conference is sponsored by the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
The full program can be found at www.careaboutcancer.ca.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than 3.7 million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
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