title: Associations Between Women's Perception of Their Husbands'/Partners' Social Support and Pap Screening in Pacific Islander Communities.
abstract: Pacific Islanders experience high rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality. This cross-sectional study examined the extent to which Samoan, Chamorro, and Tongan women's perceived receipt of social support from their husbands or male partners was associated with rates of routine cancer screening- specifically Pap testing. A total of 585 Pacific Islander women who live in the United States completed a self-report survey. Women who reported having a Pap test within the past 3 years had significantly higher scores on support from their husbands/male partners. Furthermore, the relationship of emotional support and informational support with increased Pap testing was significantly stronger for Tongan women. The findings suggest that men play an important role in promoting women's cancer prevention behaviors in Pacific Islander and potentially other collectivistic populations. Incorporating social support messages into interventions may be a simple yet effective strategy to increase women's Pap testing.
authors.affiliation: California State University, Fullerton, Department of Health Science, Fullerton, CA, USA mmouttapa@fullerton.edu.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mouttapa
authors.affiliation: California State University, Fullerton, Department of Health Science, Fullerton, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sora Park
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Tanjasiri
authors.affiliation: California State University, Fullerton, Department of Health Science, Fullerton, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jie Wu
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Guam Communications Network, Inc, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lola
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sablan-Santos
authors.affiliation: California State University, Fullerton, Department of Health Science, Fullerton, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: DeGuzman Lacsamana
authors.affiliation: Guam Communications Network, Inc, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quitugua
authors.affiliation: Guam Communications Network, Inc, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Preciosa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Guam Communications Network, Inc, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: California State University, Fullerton, Department of Health Science, Fullerton, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ciara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paige
authors.affiliation: Special Service for Groups/Tongan Community Service Center, Hawthorne, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tui'one May
authors.affiliation: Samoan National Nurses Association, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tupua
authors.affiliation: Samoan National Nurses Association, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Vaivao
authors.affiliation: Samoan National Nurses Association, Long Beach CA, USA.
authors.forename: Peniamina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taito
authors.affiliation: Special Service for Groups/Tongan Community Service Center, Hawthorne, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Elenoa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vaikona
authors.affiliation: Special Service for Groups/Tongan Community Service Center, Hawthorne, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Isileli
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vunileva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D065006:Papanicolaou Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chamorro; Pap test; Samoan; Tongan; cervical cancer; social support