Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jul 1;4(3):209-15.
doi: 10.1177/2150131913476303. Epub 2013 Feb 11.

Cervical cancer screening practice and knowledge among Hispanic migrant and seasonal farmworkers of Michigan

Jayne S Knoff  1 , Siobán D Harlow, May Yassine, Amr S Soliman
Affiliations

Cervical cancer screening practice and knowledge among Hispanic migrant and seasonal farmworkers of Michigan

Jayne S Knoff et al. J Prim Care Community Health. .

Abstract

Background: High incidence of cervical cancer among Hispanics and low utilization of cervical screening among farmworkers led us to examine Pap test use and knowledge among Hispanic farmworkers in Michigan.

Methods: Patients and potential patients of Northwest Michigan Health Services, Inc were surveyed in 2 communities (A and B) about their screening knowledge, attitudes, and practice.

Results: In all, 324 farmworkers participated, including 184 seasonal and 125 migrant farmworkers. Among the entire study population, 87.7% women reported receiving a Pap test recently, with no difference between migrant and seasonal farmworkers (88.0% and 87.4%, respectively, P = .088). More women from community B reported a recent Pap (93%) compared with those from community A (83%, P = .01). Only 35% of the participants had knowledge of any cervical cancer risk factors.

Discussion: Migrant farmworkers may not experience more difficulty in accessing Pap tests than seasonal farmworkers in Michigan. Knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors is low and needs to be addressed in future educational interventions.

Keywords: Hispanic; cervical cancer; farmworkers; rural population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975–2008. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2010.
    1. Boucher F, Schenker MB. Cervical cancer among Hispanic women: assessing the impact on farmworkers. J Immigr Health. 2002;4:159–165. - PubMed
    1. Meister J. The health of migrant farm workers. Occup Med. 1991;6:503–518. - PubMed
    1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2011. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 2011.
    1. Percac-Lima S, Aldrich LS, Gamba GB, Bearse AM, Atlas SJ. Barriers to follow-up of an abnormal Pap smear in Latina women referred for colposcopy. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25:1198–1204. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms