Grant: Project Grant - PA: Health and Official Languages in Minority Communities

Language is an important part of a person's identity. Canada hosts a diverse population, many of whom have a primary language other than English, including French, Canada's second official language. The ability of patients to communicate their health information and to understand their physicians is fundamental to the effective delivery of healthcare. This is especially important in patients with cancer, when complex symptom and treatment options need to be communicated effectively for the best outcomes and to ensure well-informed care decisions. To date, however, there have been no studies examining the effects of language on the care of cancer patients. Therefore, we propose to study -- using health data in Ontario and through interviews -- the most common cancer in either sex: prostate and breast cancer. We will: 1) describe and compare the sociodemographic characteristics and cancer treatment variations of linguistic groups (Anglophones, Francophones, and allophones); 2) evaluate the health outcomes in each linguistic group; 3) evaluate the association between patient-physician language concordance and treatment variations and health outcomes; 4) talk to patients/caregivers to understand how prostate and breast cancer patients/caregivers perceive how language and culture intersect with gender and other factors to impact their care experiences, autonomy, and health outcomes; and 5) conduct interviews to explore the effectiveness and appropriateness of commonly used interventions to deal with language and cultural discordance in prostate/breast cancer care, the gender-sensitivity of these tools, and future intervention tools and strategies that patients/caregivers would like to see.