Breast Cancer Risk Profile of Vietnamese Nail Salon Workers
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Breast cancer is the number one cancer among Vietnamese women in California. However, relatively little is known about factors that affect breast cancer risks and health care access/utilization in the Vietnamese population. In California, Vietnamese women often find work in the rapidly-growing nail care sector, where 80% of the nail salons are operated by professionals of Vietnamese background. Breast cancer and environmental advocates have been pushing for the elimination and labeling of suspected carcinogens in nail care products. Because nail salon workers are heavily exposed to these toxins, they are an important group to monitor while researchers continue to elucidate the relationship between breast cancer and cosmetics toxins. For Vietnamese nail salon workers, risks for breast cancer and occupational hazards are further complicated by language barriers and their challenges in accessing health care.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 To lay the groundwork to reduce the risk of breast cancer in Vietnamese women, this project will systematically collect information on Vietnamese women working in nail salons in Alameda County. We will collect information on health care access and utilization, risk behaviors such as smoking and exercise, and occupational exposures. The results of this research will guide future interventions to reduce breast cancer risk among Vietnamese women.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 To gather information about this workforce, we will convene two focus groups and conduct a survey among 200 Vietnamese nail salon workers in Alameda County. Both the focus groups and survey participants will be recruited from nail salon workers contacted through Asian Health Services' (AHS) outgoing outreach efforts to these workers. Information from the focus groups will be used to inform the design of our survey. To develop a research partnership that values both sound science and community participation, we will convene an Advisory Committee composed of key stakeholders including nail salon workers, community health specialists, breast cancer advocacy organizations, scientific researchers and leaders within the Vietnamese community. This Advisory Committee will provide essential community input to the focus group and survey design and will advise how to use the research results in future advocacy, health interventions and environmental controls to reduce breast cancer risk among Vietnamese women.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The proposed project is innovative in its ability to gather information on a population that is often difficult to reach because of issues related to language and distrust. By building on the experience and trust fostered by the on-going outreach efforts of AHS, we will be able to gather important information on factors that may impact the risk of breast cancer in a workforce that likely suffers prolonged exposures to potentially carcinogenic chemicals. Likewise, the Vietnamese population, a more-recent immigrant group that faces many barriers to health care access and utilization, is also understudied and underserved with respect to cancer risk. Study findings would inform future research aimed at reducing the risk of breast cancer not just among the workforce and within the Vietnamese community, but also among other immigrant communities that may share similar characteristics associated with issues of acculturation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We plan to conduct this project with a process-driven approach, whereby community input plays an essential role in the direction and design of the research. Through our Advisory Committee and our focus groups, we invite participation from nail salon workers, breast cancer advocates, and scientific researchers, as well as advocates from the broader Vietnamese and immigrant communities. While the data collected as part of this project will be used to guide the design of future interventions and health research among this population, the collaborations built in the process of this study will be fundamental to the success of such future efforts.