Preventive medicine is an important element of the Australian health care system. An essential aspect of the biomedical model of health care is screening for the early detection of disease in otherwise asymptomatic people. There is ample evidence that acceptance levels of western medicine vary and that a variety of health epistemologies and health practices coexist. To examine the extent to which Chinese-Australian women integrate western medicine practices in their health seeking behaviour, a qualitative study was conducted, which involved in-depth interviews in Cantonese with 20 women. Although adherence to western health beliefs and practices varied, in general these Chinese-Australian women sought medical help only after they felt unwell. Commonly, they first tried traditional remedies for minor diseases. Many saw no reason to participate in screening when they were asymptomatic. Direct communication with health care providers who speak the same language appears to be important to many Chinese-Australian women when seeking health care services. It is recommended that ethnic health workers should participate in screening programmes and other health promotion activities.
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