Beliefs about cancer causation in Samoa: results from an awareness campaign recall survey
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Sofija, Ernesta
Burich, Shelley
Harris, Neil
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INTRODUCTION: Cancer is a leading cause of death in Samoa. Cultural beliefs shape attitudes towards disease and disease prevention in Pacific countries, and are a barrier to engaging in cancer screening services. METHODS: A survey of 205 Samoan adults conducted as part of the evaluation of the first cancer awareness campaign implemented in Samoa explored beliefs about cancer causation. RESULTS: Lifestyle factors associated with a departure from fa'aSamoa (traditional lifestyle) were most commonly cited as causing cancer. Cancer was also attributed to pathogens and person-to-person transmission, and, to a lesser extent, cultural beliefs including supernatural agency (spirits, God). CONCLUSION: Addressing misconceptions while integrating certain aspects of fa'aSamoa into cancer control strategies could support greater engagement in health promotion practices and screening initiatives.
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Rural Remote Health
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21
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1
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© The Author(s) 2021. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Subject
Nursing
Health services and systems
Public health
Specialist studies in education
Education
Health sciences
Pacific region
Samoa
cancer
cancer causation
cancer control
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Cuesta-Briand, B; Sofija, E; Burich, S; Harris, N, Beliefs about cancer causation in Samoa: results from an awareness campaign recall survey., Rural Remote Health, 2021, 21 (1), pp. 6118