No misunderstandings: new study aims to ensure culturally diverse cancer patients are heard

The WEHI researchers say the project, known as PROCAP, aims to explore the issues faced by CALD patients and close any gaps in their care. By assessing the experience of hundreds of patients, they hope to identify how cultural factors affect care and outcomes.

Clinical researcher Associate Professor Ben Tran said he was motivated to launch the study after his own experience of watching his Vietnamese grandfather die from metastatic prostate cancer in 2005.

Instead of being prescribed a standard hormone therapy that reduces testosterone levels, his grandfather was advised to have both his testicles surgically removed, which caused significant distress to him and his family. Tran said he believed language barriers and subsequent difficulties navigating the Australian healthcare system were likely to have affected the care his grandfather was provided.

Certain that his grandfather’s experience was only the tip of the iceberg, he approached Movember to support his research.

“Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with culturally and linguistically diverse individuals representing a third of the population,” said Tran, who is also a co-leader on the PROCAP study.

“But they can often face greater challenges when accessing healthcare due to various language and cultural factors.

“Anecdotally, we also hear that patients who speak a language other than English report lower satisfaction ratings following healthcare experiences, have higher rates of adverse events from healthcare and increased rates of preventable hospitalisations. But there’s currently no data to support these anecdotal observations.

“We hope our study will generate the data needed to change this narrative and help efforts to advocate for minority groups that historically don’t have great advocacy in the healthcare system.”

PROCAP plans to follow 300 CALD patients with prostate cancer over the next two years, using questionnaires to capture the patients’ healthcare experiences and quality of life at different stages through their treatment.