Effectiveness of intervention to increase knowledge and awareness on cervical cancer among Vietnamese American women
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Indefinite
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Abstract
Vietnamese women in Texas have the highest cervical cancer mortality rate compared to all other racial/ethnic groups while little is known about Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine rates among Vietnamese women. With the rapidly increasing Vietnamese population, it is essential to reach this high-risk group and educate them of the benefits of cervical cancer screenings and preventative measures regarding HPV. This study aims to assess Vietnamese female knowledge and attitudes towards cervical cancer and HPV with a focus on acculturative measures through a culturally and linguistically tailored intervention. One hundred sixteen Vietnamese-American women were recruited from community-based organizations in Houston to attend the educational intervention on cervical cancer and HPV in their preferred language. The participants completed a two-part survey with questions taken from previous studies and pilot testing. The pre-intervention survey is a pre-test to determine baseline attitude and knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV, and included relevant demographic and acculturation questions such as age and length of residency in the United States (US). The post-intervention survey is a post-test to compare any changes to the participants' attitude and knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV immediately after the educational session. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 73, with a mean of 45.57 years. The majority of the participants were born in Vietnam (85.3%) while only 14.7% were born in the U.S. Similarly, the average number of years that participants have been living in the U.S. was 16.48 years. As expected younger and more acculturated study participants were more knowledgeable about HPV and cervical cancer. Preliminary findings suggest that women who participated in the intervention significantly increased cervical cancer and HPV knowledge. The significant changes between pre- and post intervention results indicate that the program affected participants' knowledge, concerns, and interest in taking action regarding preventive measures of cervical cancer. The study suggests that future interventions should target less acculturated Vietnamese females with limited English proficiency, a population difficult in reaching through public health messages.
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Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University
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