Health literacy, cervical cancer risk factors, and distress in low-income African-American women seeking colposcopy.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the relationship between health literacy, distress, and cervical cancer risk factors in women at high risk for developing cervical cancer.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, prospective cohort design.


METHODS
Two university-based gynecological oncology colposcopy clinics and 3 Planned Parenthood community dinics.


METHODS
One hundred-thirty English-speaking African-American women > or = 18 years referred for colposcopy following abnormal Pap testing.


METHODS
Avoidance and Intrusion subscales of the Impact of Events Scale (IES), Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), and demographics.


RESULTS
Forty-five percent of women had a low level of health literacy (< 9th grade). Low health literacy was related to fewer risk factors (P < .01) and higher levels of distress on the Impact of Events avoidance subscale (P < .05) after controlling for covariates. Forty-three percent of women with low literacy had excessive levels of distress as compared to 25% in women with high literacy (P < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
A low level of health literacy is associated with increased levels of distress among women at high risk for developing cervical cancer. To the extent that distress serves as a barrier to treatment, culturally informed, effective interventions are needed.
Sharp
Lisa K
LK
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. l-sharp@northwestern.edu
Zurawski
Jill M
JM
Roland
Phillip Y
PY
O'Toole
Cheryl
C
Hines
Jane
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003127:Colposcopy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology