title: Breast and cervical cancer screening among South Asian immigrants in the United States.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  South Asian (SA) immigrants (from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) constitute the fastest growing of all Asian American immigrants to the United States, with a growth rate of 106% from 1990 to 2001. Data are lacking on health behaviors of this population subgroup, including cancer-related information.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  : The purpose of this study was to assess rates and correlates of breast and cervical cancer screening in a community sample of SAs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were recruited from among attendees of 3 community-based agency programs. Data were collected in English, Hindi, and Gujarati from a convenience sample of 198 participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two-thirds of the sample (n = 127, 65.5%) had ever had a mammogram, whereas only a third (n = 65, 32.8%) had ever had a Papanicolaou smear or vaginal examination. Several predisposing factors (eg, country of birth, years in the United States, acculturation, age, and acknowledged barriers to screening) were significant predictors of breast and cervical screening, whereas the only enabling factor was past screening behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Additional study is warranted on cultural aspects of cancer screening behaviors. These data are formative on facilitators and barriers to mammogram and Papanicolaou test completion among these understudied minority women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses who practice in primary care may begin to target health education based on sociodemographics of SA women and emphasize discussion of barriers to screening.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA. umenon.asu@gmail.com
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Menon
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Szalacha
authors.forename: Abhijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prabhughate
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*