Evaluating Cancer Awareness and Risk Factors in the Australian Public

This report presents a qualitative research investigation into cancer awareness among the Australian public. The study explores the role of poor awareness regarding cancer risk factors. The research employs semi-structured interviews to gather data from a diverse group of participants. The report i...Read More

Table of Contents
Step 1: Qualitative Research Methods for Public Health.....................................................1
Research title.........................................................................................................................1
Research question.................................................................................................................1
Interview Question...............................................................................................................2
STEP 2.......................................................................................................................................2
Brief Literature review........................................................................................................2
Sampling Method..................................................................................................................4
Advantages........................................................................................................................4
Disadvantages....................................................................................................................4
Choice of Semi-structured interviews.................................................................................4
Design of questions...............................................................................................................5
Data Findings........................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................6
Personal Opinion..................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................9
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Step 1: Qualitative Research Methods for Public Health.
Research title
To evaluate the role of poor awareness towards risk component of cancer among the
Australian public
Research question
 What is the leading cause of cancer in Australia?
 Does poor awareness among the Australian people promote Cancer?
 What initiatives have been put in place to ensure awareness among the Australian
people?
Interview Question.
Using the Semi-structured interview method of sampling, some of the open-ended question
outlined below were formulated.
1) What measures do you practice to protect yourself and reduce the cancer component to
your family?
2) How frequently do you avail yourself for scanning in cancer centers?
3) As a resident of Australia, are you aware of what causes cancer?
STEP 2
Brief Literature review.
Cancer is a significant burden in Australia. There are almost over 1 million people in
Australia who either have lived or are living with cancer. About 30 years ago, approximately
6 in 12 people survived the monster disease for at least five years after being diagnosed,
luckily nowadays in 10 in 12 people survive for at most five years. Understanding and
avoiding the significant factors leading to cancer among Australian people can significantly
reduce the chance of getting the disease while screening programs increase the fast detection
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of cancer and hence early starting of the treatment. Vast improvements in the care and
hospitals in Australia has contributed to advances in survival among cancer patients.
Although the cancer survival rate in Australia has increased, and the death rate dropped
cancer accounts for the death of around 3 of about every ten cancer patient in Australia. With
the increased survival rates among cancer patients, individuals diagnosed with cancers such
as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and pancreatic cancer possess a little chance of surviving for at
least five years after being diagnosed with the disease. Most Torres Strait Islander and
Aboriginal people in Australia have the lowest chances of survival than other groups of
Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013).
Cancer is majorly caused by increasing damage to genes. The accumulation may be due to
exposure to a cancer-causing substances. These substances are called carcinogens, and they
are always chemical substances such as particles in tobacco smoke. Cancer may also be an
environmental agent or may be genetic. Cancer can be divided into internal factors such as
inherited generics, skin type, age, and gender; environmental exposure that can be ultraviolet
rays and lastly lifestyle-related elements (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
Lifestyle factors have enhanced the growth of cancer in Australia. Most young people in
Australia have a terrible diet and an increased habit of smoking that deteriorates the health of
many individuals. Bad diets practices such as consumption of junk foods and fatty ones has
increased the suffering among wealthy individuals in Australia. The World Cancer Research
Fund has addressed that food, body composition, and physical act have contributed to
increased cancer among Australian people.
In Australia in 2013, around 124,465 people new cases of cancer diagnosis in Australia was
reported, among which 68936 were men and 55529 were women. In 2017 also about 134,174
Australians were expected to be sick with the cancer component, and approximately 149990
new cases are expected to be reported by the year 2020 (Australian Institute of Health and
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Welfare, 2018). Cancer in Australia is common among the aging people, an example in 2013
74.6 percent of cancer cases reported were diagnosed in men aged over 60 years while 64
percent of the women were also aged 60 and above( Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare & Australasian Association of Cancer Registries, 2017). It was confirmed in
Australia that Cancer is common among men since the standardization rate is 562 cases per
100000 men and about 416 cases per 100000 women living in Australia. Between the year
1982 and 2013, the number of cancer in Australia has doubled in number from about 47388
to a total of 124465 individuals. As the cancer diagnosis rate increases the death rate has also
fallen due to developed infrastructures such as constructions of cancer centers. The case rates
in Australia have risen from 382.8 to 470 individuals per 100000 since 1982 and 2013 while
the cancer mortality rate has dramatically fallen from 209 to 162 deaths per 100000 since the
year 1982 and 2014. In the year 2017, Australia reported breast cancer as the most diagnosed
with 17586 individuals followed by colorectal cancer 16682 individuals, prostate cancer
16665, and last melanoma with 13491 cases. In the year 2013, prostate cancer was highly the
most reported in men while breast cancer was the most diagnosed among women (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2016).
Sampling Method.
The semi-structured interview usually involves a gathering whereby the interviewer does not
in any way follow already prepared questions. The interviewer gets the opportunity to ask
more open-ended questions promoting a discussion than undemanding questions and answer
format (Franken M, Karahalios A, Sharma N, English DR, Giles GG &Sinclair RD, 2012).
Advantages.
1) The method allows the interviewees the ability to express their opinions using their terms.
2) Semi-structured interviews are appropriate in provision of comparable qualitative data.
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3) The conversations can be recorded for later use either transcribed in case the meeting
happened to have branched off from the question guide (Royal Australian College of General
Practitioners, 2012).
Disadvantages.
1) Semi-structured interviews may be some times costly depending on the resources needed
Example Video recorders.
2) Semi-structured interviews are time-consuming.
Choice of Semi-structured interviews.
The data sampling technique was chosen because it provided a lot of convenience in the
collection of data. The comfort, in this case, can be confirmed by the ability of the interviews
to be carried via Skype, phone calls. The respondents chosen some of them being in the top
and middle managerial level were hardly in their places of work, and hence, it was a little bit
easier to interview them at their convenience. Some of our respondents who were busy during
regular working hours were past interview work (Roberts, Peter J. & Teppo, 2013)
Design of questions.
The questions used in the interview were designed in a way that they were able to meet the
primary objective and aims of the report. The open-ended questions were, therefore
formulated with the idea of satisfying the research and also getting the most out of the
research. In this report the major themes of the report were: What is the leading cause of
cancer in Australia, Does poor awareness among the Australian people promote Cancer and
what initiatives have been put in place to ensure awareness among the Australian people. The
themes are discussed in detail in the report.
Data Findings.
Data was collected from about 20 individuals. The questions presented to them were an open-
ended question and required more explanation to enable understanding. The open enabled the
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researcher to get the respondents real emotion or feelings about the cancer component and
also to show their knowledge of the disease. Most respondents were aware of the causes of
the cancer component. They said that since the disease had become a disaster in Australia,
they had taken the step to learn more about it from family doctors, books, journals, and also
from online platforms. This had enabled them to practice lifestyle and take caution on the
cancer-causing factors. Some of the individuals who would not access written materials had
acquired the information from the awareness created by different cancer platforms and
government agencies.
Most respondents noted that they rarely visit cancer screening centers in hospitals because the
services are expensive and a good percent of the population cannot afford. Some respondents
also explained that cancer screening centers could not be easily accessed because a small
number of hospitals provide the services. Most cancer patients in Australia are old aged
individuals, so the respondents said they thought that cancer is a disease brought about by old
age.
Some of the respondents had some knowledge about cancer being a lifestyle disease. They
related cancer with the rich because they believed most rich people consumed a lot of junk
foods that increase the rate of individual getting cancer.
Some of the respondents also noted that cancer had killed most of their relatives, family, and
friends, and therefore, they had taken the initiative to create awareness among themselves to
this monster called cancer. They also noted that during off-work hours and weekends, they
held meetings in the communities purposely to equip each other with the relevant information
on how to protect yourself from this lifestyle disease. The community meetings also involved
collecting funds for already diagnosed individuals to enable them to get treatment and
prolong their lives.
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The government should help in the fight and reducing the cancer increase in Australia by
banning cancer-causing agents such as tobacco or find alternatives on how residents can live
a healthy life said one of the respondents.
Conclusion.
1) In conclusion most cancer patients in Australia range from 60 years and above.
2) Most cancer cases in Australia are reported majorly on the urban places; this is because of
their lifestyle.
3) The cancer awareness level in Australia is below par because the government has not
invested the appropriate amount in maintaining the continuous rise of the cases.
4) Cancer treatment and screening in Australia are quite expensive, and it is not affordable
among people with low living standards, and therefore this possesses a challenge to the
government for it to make cancer screening services or either cut down the cost to make it
easily affordable.
5) The Common type of cancer in Australia is skin cancer, with data showing that almost a
million cases were reported in the year 2015. Skin cancer in Australia is caused by excessive
exposure to the ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which in turn causes DNA damage to
individual skins cells.
6) As at 2017 in Australia lung cancer was reported as the most deadly as it resulted in the
death of one in five people. Breast and bowel cancer were then accounted for about 19.1
percent of the deaths reported in that year with pancreatic cancer following at 5.6per cent and
lastly prostate cancer at 5.1 percent.
.
Personal Opinion.
The government in Australia should make cancer screening in all public hospitals free to
enable all citizens to access the services. They should also provide cancer screening
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instruments in all public hospitals to make it easily accessible for all individuals in Australia
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013).
The government should also provide and construct homes for elderly individuals to be able to
control and monitor their health when they have been diagnosed with the diseases. This will
help reduce the cost most families undergo to ensure effective treatment of their loved ones.
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012)
The government should sponsor doctors in Australia to learn about specific cancers and their
causes so that when they come to local health centers, they will be able to help individuals
diagnosed with any cancer.
The government should invest considerably in creating awareness among the Australian
people. The relevant authorities can create events such as marathons whose main idea is to
create awareness. The races can include cancer survivors who can tell their story to people
diagnosed and healthy individuals on how they can protect themselves from the disease
(Staples MP, Elwood M, Burton RC, Williams JL, Marks R & Giles GG, 2006)
The Australian government should ban plastic wrappings such as the ones used to package
sausages; this is because the plastics contain cancer-causing components.
The government should collaborate with the private sectors such as the World Health
organization to ensure and enhance continuous learning and passing relevant information to
the local people. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Cancer Australia, 2008)
The Australian government should employ more experienced doctors from the cancer field to
ensure that cancer patients in Australia are handled with care during the event of treatment.
During the collection of data using semi-structured interviews there was a lot of
inconsistency in terms of answering questions by reposndents.Some respondents termed
some information confidential.
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Some of the respondents were not in good moods so the answers given were not accurate
since they would answer some questions ignorantly without thinking.
Some respondents were facing a lot of trauma since the cancer monster had taken some of
their relatives. So some time was taken away from the interview trying to console the affected
people urging them not to lose hope but practise healthy lifestyles to avoid the disease.
A lot of time and resources were used in the process of acquiring information. Data recording
vices were purchased to record all the interviews.
In the event of interviewing the respondents the initiative of educating the respondents also
was put into practise. During the interview most respondents acquired relevant information
from the interviewer as exchanging of ideas on how to curb this monster was advocated for
among the many respondents.
Language barrier was also a major problem. Some of the respondents were illiterate and
would not converse well in the English language so some information was not collected from
the individuals since hiring a translator meant that more funds were required to pay up the
person.
Through the interviewee I got the idea that many people suffer silently with this cancer
disease because of lack of funds to treat themselves and the event that they would not access
cancer scanning centres.
References.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. 3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2013. Canberra:
Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2015 Mar 31 [cited 2015 Mar 31]. Report No.:
3303.0. Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3303.0.
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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019. Cancer in Australia: In brief 2019. Cancer
series no. 122. Cat no. CAN 126. Canberra: AIHW.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Skin cancer in Australia. Cat. no. CAN 96.
Canberra, Australia: AIHW; 2016.
.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012. Cancer incidence projections: Australia,
2011 to 2020. Cancer series no. 66. Cat. No. CAN 62. Canberra: AIHW.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Australasian Association of Cancer Registries
2017. Cancer in Australia: in brief 2017. Cancer series no. 102. Cat no. CAN 101.
Canberra: AIHW.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Cancer Australia 2008. Non-melanoma skin
cancer: general practice consultations, hospitalisations, and mortality. Cancer series
no. 43. Cat. No. 39. Canberra: AIHW.
.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018. ACIM (Australian Cancer Incidence and
Mortality) Books. Canberra: AIHW
.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2013. Health system expenditure on cancer and
other neoplasms in Australia: 2008–09. Cancer series no. 81. Cat. no. 78. Canberra:
AIHW.
Cancer, Australia, 2016. Cancer research in Australia 2016 to 2018: Opportunities for
strategic research investment – Highlights, Cancer Australia, Surry Hills, NSW.
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Fransen M, Karahalios A, Sharma N, English DR, Giles GG, Sinclair RD (2012). Non-
melanoma skin cancer in Australia. Med J Aust 2012 Nov 19
Franken M, Karahalios A, Sharma N, English DR, Giles GG, Sinclair RD(2012). Non-
melanoma skin cancer in Australia. Med J Aust 2012 Nov 19
Joensuu, Heikki; Jyrkkiö, Sirkku; Kellokumpu-Lehtinen, Pirkko-Liisa; Kouri, Mauri;
Roberts, Peter J. & Teppo, Lyly (2013) Syöpätaudit. Helsinki: Kustannus Oy
Duodecim.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Guidelines for preventive activities in
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Staples MP, Elwood M, Burton RC, Williams JL, Marks R, Giles GG. Non-melanoma skin
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