Effective lay health worker outreach and media-based education for promoting cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese American women.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to promote cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese American women in Santa Clara County, Calif.


METHODS
In 2001-2004, we recruited and randomized 1005 Vietnamese American women into 2 groups: lay health worker outreach plus media-based education (combined intervention) or media-based education only. Lay health workers met with the combined intervention group twice over 3 to 4 months to promote Papanicolaou (Pap) testing. We used questionnaires to measure changes in awareness, knowledge, and Pap testing.


RESULTS
Testing increased among women in both the combined intervention (65.8% to 81.8%; P<.001) and media-only (70.1% to 75.5%; P<.001) groups, but significantly more in the combined intervention group (P=.001). Among women never previously screened, significantly more women in the combined intervention group (46.0%) than in the media-only group (27.1%) obtained tests (P<.001). Significantly more women in the combined intervention group obtained their first Pap test or obtained one after an interval of more than 1 year (became up-to-date; 45.7% to 67.3%, respectively; P<.001) than did those in the media-only group (50.9% to 55.7%, respectively; P=.035).


CONCLUSIONS
Combined intervention motivated more Vietnamese American women to obtain their first Pap tests and to become up-to-date than did media education alone.
Mock
Jeremiah
J
Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine and the Center for Health and Community at the University of California, San Francisco 94102, USA. Jeremiah.Mock@ucsf.edu
McPhee
Stephen J
SJ
Nguyen
Thoa
T
Wong
Ching
C
Doan
Hiep
H
Lai
Ky Q
KQ
Nguyen
Kim H
KH
Nguyen
Tung T
TT
Bui-Tong
Ngoc
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001213:Asian / Q000193:education*; D002140:California; D003150:Community Health Workers; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology*