Evaluation of a cervical cancer control intervention using lay health workers for Vietnamese American women.
OBJECTIVE
We conducted a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a cervical cancer control intervention for Vietnamese American women that used lay health workers.


METHODS
The study group included 234 women who had not received a Papanicolaou (Pap) test in the last 3 years. Experimental group participants received a lay health worker home visit. Our trial endpoint was Pap test receipt within 6 months of randomization. Pap testing completion was ascertained through women's self-reports and medical record reviews. We examined intervention effects among women who had ever received a Pap test (prior to randomization) and women who had never received a Pap test.


RESULTS
Three quarters of the women in the experimental group completed a home visit. Ever-screened experimental group women were significantly more likely to report Pap testing (P < .02) and to have records verifying Pap testing (P < .04) than were ever-screened control group women. There were no significant differences between the trial arms for women who had never been screened.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that lay health worker-based interventions for Vietnamese American women are feasible to implement and can increase levels of Pap testing use among ever-screened women but not among never-screened women.
Taylor
Victoria M
VM
Cancer Prevention Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. vtaylor@fhcrc.org
Jackson
J Carey
JC
Yasui
Yutaka
Y
Nguyen
Tung T
TT
Woodall
Erica
E
Acorda
Elizabeth
E
Li
Lin
L
Ramsey
Scott
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001213:Asian; D003150:Community Health Workers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057194:Intention to Treat Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult