Chinese health beliefs of older Chinese in Canada

Wing Leung Lai, Shireen Surood

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines the cultural health beliefs held by older Chinese in Canada. Methods: Chinese surnames are randomly selected from the local Chinese telephone directories. Telephone screening is then conducted to identify eligible Chinese people 55 years of age or older to take part in a face-to-face interview to complete a structured survey questionnaire. Results: The results of exploratory factor analysis indicate that the health beliefs of the older Chinese are loaded onto three factors related to beliefs about traditional health practices, beliefs about traditional Chinese medicine, and beliefs about preventive diet. Education, religion, country of origin, length of residency in Canada, and city of residency are the major correlates of the various Chinese health beliefs scales. Discussion: The findings support the previous prescriptive knowledge about Chinese health beliefs and illustrate the intragroup sociocultural diversity that health practitioners should acknowledge in their practice.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-62
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Aging and Health
Volume21
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Chinese
  • Culture
  • Elderly
  • Health beliefs
  • Older adults

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Gerontology
  • Community and Home Care
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Chinese health beliefs of older Chinese in Canada'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this