Top

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health

Published in:

01-04-2007 | Original Paper

Knowledge about Cervical Cancer Risk Factors, Traditional Health Beliefs, and Pap Testing Among Vietnamese American Women

Authors: H. Hoai Do, Victoria M. Taylor, Nancy Burke, Yutaka Yasui, Stephen M. Schwartz, J. Carey Jackson

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 2/2007

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this paper was to examine knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors and traditional health beliefs in relation to Papanicolaou (Pap) testing among Vietnamese women.

Methods: A population-based survey was conducted in Seattle (n<352, response rate=82%) during 2002.

Results: The proportions of women who knew that older age, not getting regular Pap tests, and Vietnamese ethnicity are associated with an elevated cervical cancer risk were only 53%, 62%, and 23%, respectively. The majority (87%) incorrectly believed poor women’s hygiene is a risk factor for cervical cancer. Approximately two-thirds (68%) of the women had received a Pap test during the preceding three years. Knowing that lack of Pap testing increases the risk of cervical cancer was strongly associated (p<0.001) with recent Pap smear receipt.

Conclusion: Our results confirm that Vietnamese women have lower levels of cervical cancer screening than non-Latina white women. Intervention programs addressing Pap testing in Vietnamese communities should recognize women’s traditional beliefs while encouraging them to adopt biomedical preventive measures into their daily lives.

US Census Bureau: US Summary: 2000. Washington, DC: Department of Commerce; 2002

Fawcett JT, Carino BV: Pacific bridges: the new immigration from Asia and the Pacific Islanders: Staten Island: Center for Migration Studies; 1987

Cockburn M: Cancer incidence and mortality in California - Trends by race/ethnicity 1988–2001. Los Angeles: University of Southern California; 2004

McPhee SJ, Stewart S, Brock KC, Bird JA, Jenkins CNH, Pham GQ: Factors associated with breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Vietnamese American women. Cancer Detect Prev 1997; 21(6):510–521PubMed

Hiatt RA, Pasick RJ, Pérez-Stable EJ, McPhee SJ, Engelstad L, Lee M, Sabogal F, D’Onofrio CN, Stewart S: Pathways to early cancer detection in the multiethnic population of the San Francisco Bay Area. Health Educ Q 1996; 23(Suppl 1):10–27

McPhee SJ, Nguyen TT: Cancer, cancer risk factors, and community-based cancer control trials in Vietnamese Americans. Asian Am Pac Isl J Health 2000; 8(1):18–31PubMed

Hubbell FA, Chavez LR, Mishra SI, Magana JR, Burciaga Valdez R: From ethnography to intervention: developing a breast cancer control program for Latinas. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 1995; 18:109–115PubMed

Hubbell FA, LR C, Mishra SI, Valdez RB: Beliefs about sexual behavior and other predictors of Papanicolaou smear screening among Latinas and Anglo women. Arch Intern Med 1996; 156:2353–2358PubMedCrossRef

Mishra SI, Luce-Aoelua PH, Hubbell FA: Predictors of Papanicolaou smear use among American Somoan women. J Gen Intern Med 2001; 16:320–324PubMedCrossRef

10.

McPhee SJ: Promoting breast and cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese American women: two interventions. Asian Am Pac Isl J Health 1998; 6(2):344–350PubMed

11.

Taylor V, Yasui Y, Burke N, Nguyen T, Acorda E, Thai H, Jackson J: Pap testing adherence among Vietnamese American women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2004; 13:613–619PubMed

12.

Taylor V, Schwartz S, Yasui Y, Burke N, Shu J, Lam D, Jackson J: Pap testing among Vietnamese women: health care system and physician factors. J Comm Health 2004; 29(6):437–450CrossRef

13.

Burke N, Jackson J, Lam D, Acorda E, Chan N, Taylor V: Good health for New Years: Development of cervical cancer control outreach program for Vietnamese immigrants. J Cancer Educ 2004; 19:244–250PubMedCrossRef

14.

Eyton J, Neuwirth G: Cross-cultural validity: ethnocentrism in health studies with special reference to the Vietnamese. Soc Sci Med 1984; 18(5):447–453PubMedCrossRef

15.

Holly EA: Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, cervical cancer, and HPV. Annu Rev Public Health 1996; 17:69–84PubMedCrossRef

16.

Brinton LA: Epidemiology of cervical cancer–overview. IARC Sci Publ 1992; 119:3–23PubMed

17.

Parazzini F, La Vecchia C, Negri E, Cecchetti G, Fedele L: Reproductive factors and the risk of invasive and intraepithelial cervical neoplasia. Br J Cancer 1989; 59(5):805–809PubMed

18.

Brinton LA, Reeves WC, Brenes MM, Herrero R, de Britton RC, Gaitan E, Tenorio F, Garcia M, Rawls WE: Parity as a risk factor for cervical cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1989; 130(3):486–496PubMed

19.

US Preventive Services Task Force: Guide to clinical preventive services. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; 1996

20.

Saslow D, Runowicz CD, Solomon D, Moscicki AB, Smith RA, Eyre HJ, Cohen C: American Cancer Society guideline for the early detection of cervical neoplasia and cancer. CA Cancer J Clin 2002; 52(6):342–362PubMedCrossRef

21.

Rosner B: Fundamentals of biostatistics. Boston: Duxbury; 2000

22.

Breslow NS, Day NE: Statistical methods in cancer research. Volume 1: the analysis of case-control studies. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1980

23.

Ralston JD, Taylor VM, Yasui Y, Kuniyuki A, Jackson JC, Tu SP: Knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors among Chinese immigrants in Seattle. J Community Health 2003; 28(1):41–57PubMedCrossRef

24.

Ho V, Yamal JM, Atkinson EN, Basen-Enguist K, Tortolero-Luna G, Follen M: Predictors of breast and cervical screening in Vietnamese women in Harris County, Houston, Texas. Cancer Nurs 2005; 28(2):119–129PubMedCrossRef

25.

Lam T, McPhee SJ, Mock J, Wong C, Doan H, Nguyen T, Lai K, Ha-Laconis T, Luong T: Encouraging Vietnamese-American women to obtain Pap tests through lay health worker outreach and media education. J Gen Intern Med 2003; 18:516–524PubMedCrossRef

26.

Donnelly TT: The health-care practices of Vietnamese-Canadian women: cultural influences on breast and cervical cancer screening. Can J Nurs Res 2006; 38(1):82–101PubMed

27.

Hislop TG, Deschamps M, Teh C, Jackson C, Tu SP, Yasui Y, Schwartz SM, Kuniyuki A, Taylor VM: Facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening among Chinese Canadian women. Can J Public Health 2003; 94(1):68–73PubMed

28.

American Cancer Society: Cancer prevention and early detection: facts and figures. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2004

Title: Knowledge about Cervical Cancer Risk Factors, Traditional Health Beliefs, and Pap Testing Among Vietnamese American Women
Authors: H. Hoai Do
Victoria M. Taylor
Nancy Burke
Yutaka Yasui
Stephen M. Schwartz
J. Carey Jackson
Publication date: 01-04-2007
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 2/2007
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-006-9025-7

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Knowledge about Cervical Cancer Risk Factors, Traditional Health Beliefs, and Pap Testing Among Vietnamese American Women

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2007

Identifying Potential Risk and Protective Factors among Non-Metropolitan Latino Youth: Cultural Implications for Substance Use Research

Stressful Life Events, Culture, and Violence

Barriers to and Strategies for Recruiting Korean Americans for Community-Partnered Health Promotion Research

The Effects of Years Lived in the United States on the General Health Status of California’s Foreign-Born Populations

Welfare Reform and Health of Immigrant Women and their Children

Sexual Behavior and Drug Use Among Asian and Latino Adolescents: Association with Immigrant Status