Knowledge and Beliefs Related to Cervical Cancer and Screening Among Korean American Women

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine knowledge and health beliefs associated with cervical cancer screening among Korean American women. A telephone survey was conducted with 189 Korean American women in the Chicago area. Age, marital status, income, knowledge of early detection method for cervical cancer, and perceived beliefs about benefits of and barriers to receiving Pap tests were all related to outcomes of ever having a Pap test and having had one in the preceding 3 years. Variables uniquely related to ever having a Pap test were education, employment status, fluency in English, and proportion of life spent in the United States. Variables uniquely related to having had the test during the preceding 3 years were having a usual source of care and regular checkups. Different intervention components are suggested for the groups of Korean American women who have never had a Pap smear and for those who have not had one in the preceding 3 years, in addition to common intervention strategies that aim to increase knowledge and perceived benefit and to decrease perceived barriers to receiving Pap tests.

Knowledge, Behavior and Beliefs Related to Cervical Cancer and Screening Among Turkish Women

“…In our study, however, it was determined that women's beliefs about this issue are at a medium level. As mentioned in other studies (Kim et al, 1999;Ackerson & Gretebeck, 2007;Lee et al, 2008;Dang et al, 2010), the most important reason for this is explicable by lack of knowledge. We have found similar results in our study and determined that women's health beliefs were largely influenced by their educational level and women with low level of education had negative health beliefs towards cervical cancer screening.…”

“…In the studies on the issue (Hong, & Seetoo, 2003;Juon et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2007;Paskettet al, 2004), it has been determined that lack of knowledge and confusion about breast and cervical cancer screening would lead to inadequate use of screening services. For example, it was reported in a study by Lee et al (2008) that the low level of knowledge affects the use of Pap test. Some similar results have been obtained in our study.…”

“…Despite these benefits, many women have never been screened or are not screened at regular intervals. Though there are many reasons for it, it is reported to be largely caused by the beliefs resulting from religious and cultural values (McMullin et al, 2005;Donnelly, 2006;Lee et al, 2008;Wong et al, 2008;McFarland, 2009;Montgomery et al, 2010). According to the health belief model (Guvenc & Açikel, 2010), the higher the women's positive beliefs are about perceived benefits of Pap smear test, susceptibility, seriousness and health motivation, the higher their participation in regular Pap smear test practices is.…”

“…For example, in the studies on the issue (Yu & Seetoo, 2003;Juon et al, 2004;Paskettet et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2007 ) reported that lack of knowledge and confusion about breast and cervical cancer screening would lead to inadequate use of screening services. Another studies (Paskettet et al, 2004;Brotto et al, 2008;Lee et al, 2008) found that most of the women have the unhealthy behaviors, do not have Pap smear test regularly and do not fulfill the requirements for the test results to be accurate. Another important factor that affects applications for early diagnosis of cervical cancer is women's beliefs.…”

Cross-cultural Validation of Instruments Measuring Health Beliefs about Colorectal Cancer Screening among Korean Americans

“…Americans, and KAs [6,9]. Accordingly, this study utilized scale adaptation and modification to make belief scales culturally appropriate.…”