Breast and cervical cancer screening among Chinese American women

PURPOSE:;The purpose of this study was to describe breast and cervical canc er screening knowledge and practices of a representative sample of Chinese American women and to examine the factors associated with screening practic es. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: A random sample of 332 Chinese American women, 40 to 69 Fears of age. from die Chinatown area of Chicago, Illinois, were intervi ewed face to face, using both Chinese Mandarin (or Putunghua) and Cantonese versions of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Sup plement Questionnaire. Knowledge and use of mammogram, clinical breast exam ination (CBE), breast self-examination (BSE), and Pap smear test were asses sed. RESULTS: The results showed a low level of knowledge of cancer screening te sts and low use rates. Multiple logistics regression analysis showed that w omen with spoken English fluency were more likely to have knowledge and use of CBE, BSE, Pap test, and mammograms. Women with better than an elementar y education were more likely to have knowledge and use of CBE, BSE, and Pap test. The source of medical care was statistically significant for having had a mammogram. Knowledge of cancer warning signs and symptoms was signifi cant for knowledge of mammogram and BSE and for the use of BSE. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Multiple strategies are needed. These might include the following: 1) integration of research with population-based care by phy sicians and scientists; 2) coordinated public health education on cancer sc reening and postscreening support in Chinese languages; and 3) replication of the NHIS survey methodology and adaptive application of these instrument s across several states and regions, combined with the assessment of screen ing performance in Chinese American populations.