Cervical Cancer Control Research in Vietnamese American Communities

Census data show that the U.S. Vietnamese population now exceeds 1,250,000. Cervical cancer among Vietnamese American women has been identified as an important health disparity. Available data indicate the cervical cancer disparity may be due to low Papanicolaou (Pap) testing rates rather than varia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention biomarkers & prevention, 2008-11, Vol.17 (11), p.2924-2930
Main Authors: Taylor, Victoria M, Nguyen, Tung T, Jackson, J Carey, McPhee, Stephen J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Asian - statistics & numerical data
Biomedical Research
California - epidemiology
cervical cancer
Female
Health Status Disparities
Humans
Incidence
Middle Aged
Pap testing
Papanicolaou Test
Risk Factors
United States - epidemiology
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - epidemiology
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - ethnology
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - prevention & control
Vaginal Smears - statistics & numerical data
Vietnam - ethnology
Vietnamese Americans
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Summary:Census data show that the U.S. Vietnamese population now exceeds 1,250,000. Cervical cancer among Vietnamese American women has been identified as an important health disparity. Available data indicate the cervical cancer disparity may be due to low Papanicolaou (Pap) testing rates rather than variations in human papillomavirus infection rates and/or types. The cervical cancer incidence rates among Vietnamese and non-Latina White women in California during 2000 to 2002 were 14.0 and 7.3 per 100,000, respectively. Only 70% of Vietnamese women who participated in the 2003 California Health Interview Survey reported a recent Pap smear compared with 84% of non-Latina White women. Higher levels of cervical cancer screening participation among Vietnamese women are strongly associated with current/previous marriage, having a usual source of care/doctor, and previous physician recommendation. Vietnamese language media campaigns and lay health worker intervention programs have been effective in increasing Pap smear use in Vietnamese American communities. Cervical cancer control programs for Vietnamese women should address knowledge deficits, enable women who are without a usual source of care to find a primary care doctor, and improve patient-provider communication by encouraging health-care providers to recommend Pap testing as well as by empowering women to ask for testing. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(11):2924–30)
ISSN:1055-9965
1538-7755
DOI:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-08-0386