This project aims to improve the health and well-being of peoples by exploring the impacts of individual socioeconomic status (SES) on breast cancer awareness and use of digital health technology in early breast cancer diagnosis in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Malaysia. This interdisciplinary project will examine the effects of SES (predictor) on breast cancer awareness (outcome). SES is measured at the individual level (e.g., income or education), at area level (e.g., indicators of socioeconomic status). Then, we will explore the level of digital health technology acceptance in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Online Workshop
About : High SES has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, and the increased risk is due to differences in risk factors found in women of different SES level. High SES is often defined by high income and high education level because they are more likely to drink more alcohol, use birth control pills, and use menopausal hormone therapy. And all these factors increase the risk of breast cancer. Individuals reporting higher levels of education and income have been found to have higher incidence of breast cancer but a lower risk of mortality. Recent reviews have shown modest positive associations between the SES of women's residential area and breast cancer incidence and screening but not mortality. Women living in the highest SES communities had greater odds of having breast cancer than women living in the lowest SES communities. Similarly, the odds were higher for women in urban versus rural communities.
In Vietnam, less than 10% of eligible women receive annual breast screening – this is due to the lack of systematic national screening . Beyond this, it relates to low levels of education on digital health technology and knowledge about early diagnosis is relatively low . In Malaysia, there is difficulty in determining the exact incidence of breast cancer because of the lack of a standardised cancer registry reporting workflow . In Bangladesh, breast cancer is a hidden epidemic and there is an urgency to explore the available technology and facilities for breast cancer. This workshop will bring an interdisciplinary team to address the challenges of digital health technology for early breast cancer diagnosis in least developed and developing countries. We will identify barriers in the use of technology, the availability of the multi-modality’s datasets and standardised cancer registry reporting workflow, the cloud services (or secure server), and the acceptable way to work with the doctors and patients.
Date: 29th December 2020
Venue: Online, Zoom
Link: To be provided closer to the date
Full details and agenda at here
