Barriers to and Facilitators of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Arab Americans: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

University of Washington Abstract Barriers to and Facilitators of Colorectal Cancer screening in Arab Americans: A Qualitative Study Muhammad Alsayid Chair of Supervisory Committee: Christian Dimaano, PhD, MPH Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Health Services Purpose: To explore the barriers to and facilitators of colorectal cancer screening in Arab Americans as assessed through a qualitative study. Study Design: A qualitative study utilizing grounded theory conducted among focus groups from the Arab American community. Methods: We conducted two focus groups, where the first group had six participants and the second one had three participants. All participants were Muslims and males. The majority of participants had primary care physicians and underwent colorectal cancer screening. We used eight open-ended questions and added probes to collect more details. The focus groups’ responses were audio-recorded and the recording was translated verbatim into English and transcribed. We utilized the Grounded Theory to build a conceptual model and two frameworks. A qualitative analysis was performed to evaluate the participants’ responses. The data was reviewed and coded based on relevant words, sentences, and phrases. The codes were combined and themes were generated and placed into the categories of either barriers or facilitators. Results: Themes that emerged out of the qualitative data were placed into two categories: barriers and facilitators. Themes demonstrating barriers to colorectal cancer screening included disbelief in modern medicine, concerns about the procedure, and lack of communication with the physician. Three themes identified as facilitators to colorectal cancer screening included compliance and priority of health, access to healthcare, and awareness. Recommendation: Our recommendations include increasing the awareness of CRC and its consequences and explaining the health benefits of screening among the Arab American community. We also recommend providing cultural-based training to physicians in order to improve their communication skills with Arab American patients. Physicians should offer Arab American patients different CRCS methods to achieve higher levels of compliance.