Learning Objectives: describe beliefs about and attitudes toward smoking among Asian Americans residing in the Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and to compare these beliefs and attitudes among Asian ethnic subgroups.
Abstract:
Problem/Objective: Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of illness and death in the United States. Few studies focused on Asian Americans, one of the fastest growing but underserved population in the US.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey method was used for this study. The study sample was identified by using a stratified-cluster proportional sampling technique. A questionnaire was developed in English, translated, and back translated into four Asian languages (Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese and Cambodians). The sample consisted of 1174 individuals, distributed as follows: Chinese, 34.9%; Korean, 37.1%, Vietnamese, 16.7%; Cambodian, 8.4%; and Others, 2.7% (N=32).
Results: This is one of the first studies to compare attitudes toward tobacco-related dangers among racial/ethnic and language subgroups of Asian Americans. Findings indicated that less negative attitudes toward tobacco-related dangers were associated with smoking status: former and never smokers held more negative perceptions regarding smoking compared to current smokers. Further, results indicated that the subgroups differed with respect to their respective attitudes.
Conclusions: The growing body of empirical data on smoking among Asian Americans indicates that smoking cessation programs should take into account variations in smoking-related perceptions and attitudes across the ethnic subgroups.
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