252634 Perceived discrimination and smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Sanghyuk S. Shin, MSc , Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health (Global Health), San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
Xia Wan, PhD , Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Qian Wang , Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
H. Fisher Raymond , HIV Epidemiology Section, San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA
Huilin Liu , Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
Ding Ding, MPH , Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health, San Diego State University/ University of California- San Diego, La mesa, CA
Gonghuan Yang, Dr , Institute of Basic Medical Science, Beijing, China
Thomas Novotny, MD, MPH , Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
BACKGROUND: Smoking may be a coping mechanism for psychosocial stress caused by perceived discrimination. It is unknown whether perceived discrimination is associated with increased smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. METHODS: We conducted secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey in 10 Chinese cities to investigate whether perceived discrimination is associated with smoking behavior among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. We constructed multivariable Poisson regression models to estimate the prevalence ratios (PRs) of ever tried smoking (≥1 cigarette during lifetime) and current smoking (≥1 cigarette during past 30 days) for participants who reported perceived discrimination compared to those did not report perceived discrimination. RESULTS: Of the 1696 restaurant and hotel workers (RHWs) and 532 female sex workers (FSWs) enrolled, 155 (9.1%) and 63 (11.8%) reported perceived discrimination, 312 (18.4%) and 310 (58.3%) had ever tried smoking, and 54 (3.2%) and 223 (41.9%) were current smokers, respectively. Controlling for confounders (age, education, monthly, study province, ethnicity, months since first moved to the city, and satisfaction with life and job) perceived discrimination was independently associated with ever tried smoking (PR, 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-2.23) and current smoking (PR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.32-4.79) among RHWs and ever tried smoking (PR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.16-1.61) and current smoking (PR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.28-2.06) among FSWs. DISCUSSION: Perceived discrimination is associated with increased prevalence of smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. Policies that provide equal rights to migrants and protect them from discrimination might help prevent smoking in this population.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the mechanism by which perceived discrimination might lead to increased smoking List examples of the discrimination experienced by rural-to-urban migrant women in China

Keywords: Tobacco Control, Migrant Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral student in global health and a member of the research team that designed and conducted the research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.