An analysis of resources for indigenous women in NSW about cervical screening.
OBJECTIVE
To examine resources about cervical screening made available to Indigenous women in NSW.


METHODS
An Aboriginal woman, on behalf of another Aboriginal woman, telephoned 47 NSW based organisations in May 1998 for information about cervical screening. Received materials were analysed for format, content and readability and then submitted to a panel of Indigenous women for their feedback.


RESULTS
Of those 34 organisations agreeing to send resources, only 20 (59%) did so. After removing duplicates, 12 cervical screening resources were available for review of which six were designed and printed in NSW and the other six originated outside NSW. Of the six resources developed in NSW, two (33%) were for Aboriginal women. Of the six resources originating from outside of NSW, another two (33%) also were for Aboriginal women. The Flesch readability scores for resources ranged from 58.6 to 87.27. Those developed in NSW had a significantly lower readability score than those from outside of NSW (p = 0.025). Despite lower education levels among the target group, there was no difference in the readability scores of resources designed for Indigenous women (p = 1).


CONCLUSIONS
Most resources obtained by us were not tailored for Indigenous women.


CONCLUSIONS
This study has set a base line for resources available for Indigenous women. Our method could be replicated in the future to evaluate and monitor improvement.
Central Sydney Area Health Service, New South Wales.
L R
LR
Jackson
J E
JE
Ward
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000592:standards*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D010174:Pamphlets; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D013664:Teaching Materials / Q000592:standards* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*