Cervical cancer screening knowledge and practices among Korean-American women

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers of American women. The Pa panicolaou (Pap) smear test for cervical screening is a widely used and eff ective means to reduce the morbidity and mortality rate from cervical cance r through early detection. Despite these benefits, many women have never be en screened or are not screened at regular intervals. The purpose of this s tudy was to examine cervical cancer screening knowledge and practices of Ko rean-American women. The sample consisted of 159 Korean-American women, 40 to 69 years of age. The 1987 Cancer Control Supplement questionnaire was tr anslated into Korean and used to collect data. Twenty-six percent of the re spondents never heard of the Pap smear test. Only 34% of respondents report ed having had a Pap smear test for screening. The most frequently cited rea son for not having had a Pap smear test was absence of disease symptoms. Re sults indicate that education and usual sources of health care were signifi cant factors related to having heard of or having had a Pap smear test. The findings from this study have important implications for health practition ers and policy makers who serve this ethnic population.