Do personalised letters in Vietnamese increase cervical cancer screening among Vietnamese women?

In Australia, Vietnamese women are at greater risk of cervical cancer than other Australian women. To increase their participation in cervical screeni ng, the Vietnamese community was exposed to a media campaign about the adva ntages of cervical smear screening which was delivered in Vietnamese throug h Vietnamese newspapers and radio. In addition, 689 Vietnamese (18-67 years) were selected from the electoral roll. They were randomly assigned to either receive a personal letter writt en in Vietnamese promoting cervical screening, or not. We report on the eff ect of the letter on smear rates. Being randomised to be sent such a letter was not associated with any incre ase in screening (relative rate of appropriate screening in the interventio n versus the control group was 0.85, 95% CI 0.55-1.3). It is important to c arefully evaluate untested health promotion interventions.