Educational interventions boost participation in screening.(for cervical cancer)

2002 MAY 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of Chinese-American women suggests that direct mailing of culturally and linguistically appropriate educational materials and home visits by outreach workers can increase participation in cervical cancer screening within this population. The findings appear in the May 1, 2002, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

These interventions could be incorporated into the ongoing activities of the U.S. Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, concluded Vicky Taylor, MD, MPH, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and her colleagues. Such interventions could also help reduce racial and ethnic health disparities associated with poor use of screening, they said.

Studies have suggested that Chinese-American women have higher rates of invasive cervical cancer than the general North American population. While studies have shown that considerably fewer Chinese-American women participate in cervical screening than women of other population subgroups, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of educational interventions on Pap testing in this population.

Taylor and her coworkers randomly assigned 402 Chinese-American women in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada into three groups. None of the women had received Pap testing in the previous 2 years or intended to have a Pap test in the next 2 years. One group received educational materials through home ...