Pacific women in NZ call for improved cancer education and more culturally responsive healthcare

Pacific women are calling for better cancer education and more culturally responsive healthcare, with new research finding major gaps in awareness of gynaecological cancers.

This is despite Pacific communities carrying a disproportionate burden of the disease.

The University of Otago study surveyed 94 Pacific women from across Aotearoa, to better understand their knowledge of women's cancers and what they see as priorities for future cancer care and research.

Senior author Professor Gabi Dachs said findings showed a need for better health education.

"We wanted to understand the knowledge base that Pasifika women have about women's cancers, so gynaecological cancers," Prof Dachs said.

"We know from very robust statistics that Pacific women carry a large burden of cancers, specifically gynaecological cancers, compared to other ethnicities in New Zealand."

"We wanted to understand, would cancer-free, by and large, women be able to identify different gynaecological cancers, and would they be able to tell us what sort of treatment you would receive if you were to have any of these cancers," Dachs added.

Researchers found many participants could not identify several major gynaecological cancers, including uterine cancer, despite Pacific women experiencing significantly higher rates of the disease.

Awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and treatments was also low.

"It was a surprise to us how many could not identify a number of the major women's cancers, including uterine cancer or endometrial cancer, because the rates, specifically in Pasifika, are very high for this cancer," Dachs said.

"The real big take-home message is that we, as a country, Aotearoa, are not doing very well on health education in this area."

What does the future look like?

The study also asked women what they wanted cancer researchers to focus on in the future.

Dachs said prevention and early detection ranked highly.

"We also asked them what their priorities are for research because I'm a cancer researcher, so we wanted to know what areas people want us to look into, and those were largely prevention of cancer in the first place.

"And then, if not, then an early detection because we know a lot of these cancers can be treated extremely well if they get caught early, but in order for them to be caught early, people need to understand what the symptoms would be."

However, one of the most significant responses was an emphasis on quality of life.

"Maintaining your ability to look after your family, to be a part of the family, not to become a burden on the family, and maintaining that quality of life - that was the highest priority identified by our Pacific women," Dachs said.

Researchers said the findings pointed to a need for more culturally appropriate education, such as Pacific language translations and resources that were more accessible, and understandable.

"Our next step we would like to do is provide more culturally appropriate resources, so education is in the correct languages, translating it, making it easy to understand, say using pictures, and all of these things, because that would make a huge difference," Dachs said.

Cultural considerations

The research also found many women would consider seeking support from both mainstream healthcare providers and traditional or spiritual healers.

Dachs explained this showed how important it was for clinicians to recognise patients who may draw on a range of support systems during treatment.

"I think just being aware of all these other options. I think the main thing is these participants all notice that just living longer is not the only aim that they have. So living better, living fully within their family, that is so much more important."

"And a lot of that cannot just be delivered by surgery, by chemotherapy, by radiation therapy.

"Although those are the the treatments that will, you know, fight the actual cancer, they are not the ones that will make a patient feel better. So that's where alternative, or complementary or spiritual means come in, and they might be helpful in combination. Obviously, not on their own"

"And asking their patients that are sitting in front of them, 'Is there anything else that you're considering? Is there anything else we can do?' That's what we're hoping for," she said.

Dachs said their research should drive future studies and improve care and outcomes for Pacific communities.

"The main takeaway is if you have symptoms that are unusual for you, talk to your health professional," she said.

"Some are as simple as if your your bowel movements change, and you wouldn't necessarily put that together with a gynaecological cancer," Dachs said.

Other sysmptoms can include unusual bleeding, a sore abdomen, and fatigue, she added.

"But obviously a lot of us feel tired every now and then. So, a lot of these are very hard to immediately pin down. But if it is consistent and if it is worrying, it's worth talking to a healthcare provider about them."