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The Chinese Women's Health Project

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

The Chinese Women's Health Project conducted two simultaneous interventions designed to increase cervical cancer screening in Chinese women living in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, British Columbia. Both interventions provided Chinese women between the ages of 20 and 69 with culturally and linguistically sensitive educational materials (video, brochures, fact sheets). The "low intensity" method consisted of mailing these packets to eligible women, while the "high intensity" intervention involved home visits by outreach workers fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.

Goal / Mission

The program aimed to increase the rate of cervical cancer screening in Chinese women living in North America in response to research findings of significantly lower cervical cancer screening rates in Chinese women.

Impact

This intervention program found that women who received an intervention had cervical cancer screenings at a higher rate than those who did not receive any intervention. This shows that culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions might help improve Pap testing rates among Chinese women.

Results / Accomplishments

In an evaluation study, women were randomly assigned to one of two experimental arms or control status. Statistically significant differences in cervical cancer screening were found in both intervention groups: 39 percent of women in the outreach intervention group and 25 percent of women in the direct mail intervention reported having a pap smear during the intervention period, as compared to 15 percent of women in the control group. The researchers concluded that culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions may improve Pap testing levels among Chinese women in North America.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Primary Contact
Victoria M. Taylor, MD, MPH
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave North (MP-702)
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 667-5114
vtaylor@fredhutch.org
http://www.fhcrc.org/index.html
Topics
Health / Cancer
Health / Women's Health
Health / Prevention & Safety
Organization(s)
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Source
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Date of publication
2002
Location
Seattle, Washington
For more details
Target Audience
Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities