School of Public Health

Culturally Sensitive Cancer Information for Individuals with a Migration Background

Development of concepts for culturally sensitive informationon cancer preventionand early detection (KIKK) for people with their own migration experience from the Middle East

Duration: 1 August 2023 – 31 July 2026

Head: Prof Dr Doreen Reifegerste and Dr Hanna Luetke Lanfer

 

Cancer is one of the most important widespread diseases in Germany. Preventive behaviour such as a healthy lifestyle and participation in early detection examinations can prevent or positively influence the course of the disease. Health literacy has established itself as a key competence in the prevention of cancer and other diseases. Studies show that health literacy is unevenly distributed in Germany. 'Migration background' was long regarded as a health risk factor. However, more recent studies show that health literacy in this ever-growing group of people with a migration background is distributed just as diversely as in the general population. Language barriers, unfamiliarity with the German healthcare system and cultural communication problems between medical staff and patients have different effects on the handling of health information and consequently on health literacy.

People with a migration background now make up around a quarter of the population living in Germany. Despite the size and diversity of this population group, there are only a few detailed studies that show the health resources and risks with regard to cancer in individual subgroups. The studies that do exist focus primarily on groups of Turkish and Russian origin with a history of immigration to Germany stretching back decades. People with their own migration experience (i.e. first generation immigrants) from countries of origin in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria) have so far been poorly represented.

In order to enable culturally sensitive health information, researchers at Bielefeld University want to use qualitative studies to find out what opportunities and barriers there are to accessing information on cancer prevention and screening. The project also focuses on the cultural, linguistic, gender-specific and other needs of first-generation immigrants from the Middle East and who are important sources of reference and information on health issues for them. In this way, strategies and recommendations for practically realisable interventions and information strategies can be derived in order to subsequently apply these in pilot projects and, in the medium term, in healthcare provision.

The project is funded by the German Cancer Aid Foundation.