Abstract
The author's earlier study of Russian immigrant women's attitudes and practices related to the early detection of cancer has shown their low participation in breast screening activities, from BSE to mammography. Most respondents were educated women who acknowledged their personal risk, understood the role of screening, but still avoided preventive action. In this qualitative research, the gap between cognitions and behavior is explored further by means of in-depth interviews and focus groups with 34 women aged 50–74 who moved to Israel after 1990. All Israeli women of this age are entitled for screening mammography free of charge once every 2 years. The findings point to a low place of preventive health concerns in the personal agenda of female immigrants, loaded by the more immediate survival needs (income, housing, support of other family members, etc.). Other barriers include the lack of referral from primary care providers, fear of cancer diagnosis, apprehensions of irradiation and pain involved in mammography, fatalist general attitude towards health and illness, and mistrust of current cancer therapy. Many older women (60+), whose risks are actually higher, shared a false belief that breast cancer strikes younger women and they are already past the age of concern. Older informants avoided gynecological clinics because of male gender of most gynecologists, their poor command of Hebrew, and a belief that gynecological checkups are irrelevant and even shameful in their age. It is concluded that female immigrants, especially older ones, must be a special target group for preventive health interventions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AndersonJM: Migration and health: Perspectives on immigrant women. Sociol Health Illness, 1987; 9(4):410-438
AndersonJ, DyckI, LynamJ: Health care professionals and women speaking: Constraints in everyday life and the management of chronic illness. Health 1997; 1(1):57-80
DunnJR, DyckI: Social determinants of health in Canada's immigrant population: results from the National Population Health Survey. Soc Sci Med 2000; 51:1573-1593
ElliottSJ, GillieJ: Moving experiences: A qualitative analysis of health and migration. Health Place 1998; 4(4):327-339
RemennickL, OttensteinN: Reaction of new Soviet immigrants to primary health care services in Israel. Int J Health Services 1998; 28(3):555-574
AndersonJM: Perspectives on the health of immigrant women: A feminist analysis. Advances Nurs Sci 1985; 8(1):61-76
GabacciaD: From the Other Side: Women, Gender, and Immigrant Life in the U.S. Bloomington: Indiana University Press; 1994
Amir, D, Remennick, LI, and Elmelech, Y: Educating Lena: Women immigrants and “integration” policies in Israel—the politics of reproduction and family planning: In Lewin-EpsteinN, et al. Eds. Russian Jews on Three Continents. Migration and Resettlement. London: Frank Cass; 1997:495-509
RemennickL: “Women with a Russian accent” in Israel: On the gender aspects of immigration. Eur J Women Stud 1999; 6(4):441-461
CalvoJM: Health care access for immigrant women: In: Moss KL, ed. Man-Made Medicine: Women's Health, Public Policy and Reform. London: Duke University Press; 1996:161-181
PosadskayaA, Ed: Women in Russia: A New Era in Russian Feminism. London: Verso; 1994
Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption: Immigrant Absorption: Situation, Challenges and Goals. Jerusalem: Ministry of Immigrant Absorption; 2001
RennertG: Implications of Russian immigration on mortality patterns in Israel. Int J Epidemiol 1994; 23:751-756
CockerhamWC: The social determinants of the decline of life expectancy in Russia and Eastern Europe: A lifestyle explanation. J Health Soc Behav 1997; 38(2):117-130
NirelN, RosenB, GrossR: Immigrants From the Former Soviet Union in the Health System: Selected Findings From National Service. Jerusalem: JDC—Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Human Development. (Hebrew); 1996
GrossR, Brammli-GreenbergS, RemennickL: Self-rated health status and health care utilization among immigrant and nonimmigrant Israeli Jewish women. Women Health 2001; 34(3):53-70
ZilberN, LernerY: Psychological distress among recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel. I. Correlates of level of distress. Psychol Med 1996; 26:493-501
RemennickL: Preventive behavior among recent immigrants: Russian-speaking women and cancer screening in Israel. Soc Sci Med 1999; 48:1669-1684
NavehG, NoamG, BenitaE: The Employment and Economic Situation of Immigrants From the Former Soviet Union: Selected Findings From a National Employment Survey. Jerusalem: JDC-Brookdale Institute of Gerontology & Human Development (Hebrew); 1995
RemennickL: “All my life is one big nursing home”: Russian immigrant women in Israel speak about double caregiver stress. Women Stud Int Forum 2001; 24(6):685-700
AxelEM, DvoirinVV: Cancer Statistics: Incidence, Mortality, Socioeconomic Losses, Survival. Moscow: National Cancer Research Center (Russian); 1998
KelseyJL, BernsteinL: Epidemiology and prevention of breast cancer. Ann Rev Public Health 1996; 17:47-67
RemennickL: Immigrants from Chernobyl-affected areas in Israel: The link between health and social adjustment. Soc Sci Med 2002; 54:309-317
AvgarA, ed: Breast Cancer in Israel. Jerusalem: Israeli Cancer Association, Israeli Women's Network, and Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Human Development (Hebrew); 1996
Women's Health in Israel: A Data Book. Jerusalem: Hadassa, The Women's Zionist Organization and Israel Women's Network; 1999
TagarinM, GrossR, YuvalD: Allocation of Time Among Primary Care Physicians in Israel. Jerusalem: JDC-Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Human Development; 1997
RimerB, RossF, et al.: Older women's participation in breast cancer screening. J Gerontol 1992; 47:85-91
ChampionV, MillerAM: Recent mammography in women aged 35 and older: Predisposing variables. Health Care Women Int 1996; 17:233-245
ThomasLR, FoxSA, LeakeBG, RoetzheimRG: The effects of health beliefs on screening mammography utilization among a diverse sample of older women. Women Health 1996; 24(3):77-93
RemennickL: The cancer problem in the context of modernity: Sociology, demography, politics. Curr Sociol, 1998; 46(1, Special Issue), 150
SteinJ, FoxS, et al.: Mammography usage and the Health Belief Model. Health Educ Q 1992; 19:447-462
RumbautRG: Assimilation and its discontents: Between rhetoric and reality. Int Migrat Rev 1997; 31(4):923-960
Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel: The Statistical Abstract of Israel, 2000. Jerusalem, Israel: CBS; 2001
CrabtreeBF, MillerWL: A template approach to text analysis: Developing and using codebooks: In: CrabtreeBF, MillerWL, eds. Doing Qualitative Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1992
BainesCJ: Some thoughts on why women don't do breast self-examination [Editorial]. Can Med Assoc J 1983; 128:255-257
Centers for Disease Control: Cancer screening behavior among U.S. women: Breast cancer, 1987–1989. Morb Mortal Wkly Rev 1992; 41:26-27
HopperSV: The influence of ethnicity on the health of older women. Clin Geriatr Med 1993; 9(1):231-259
Ernster, VL: Mammography screening for women aged 40 through 49—A guidelines saga and a call for informed decision making. Am J Public Health 1997; 87(7):1103-1106
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Remennick, L. “I Have No Time for Potential Troubles”: Russian Immigrant Women and Breast Cancer Screening in Israel. Journal of Immigrant Health 5, 153–163 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026163008336
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026163008336