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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 Jan;107(1):159-165.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303522. Epub 2016 Nov 17.

Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Literacy Among Korean American Women: A Community Health Worker-Led Intervention

Hae-Ra Han  1 , Youngshin Song  1 , Miyong Kim  1 , Haley K Hedlin  1 , Kyounghae Kim  1 , Hochang Ben Lee  1 , Debra Roter  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Literacy Among Korean American Women: A Community Health Worker-Led Intervention

Hae-Ra Han et al. Am J Public Health. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: To test a community health worker (CHW)-led health literacy intervention on mammogram and Papanicolaou test screening among Korean American women.

Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized trial at 23 ethnic churches in the Baltimore, Maryland-Washington, DC, metropolitan area between 2010 and 2014. Trained CHWs enrolled 560 women. The intervention group received an individually tailored cancer-screening brochure followed by CHW-led health literacy training and monthly telephone counseling with navigation assistance. Study outcomes included receipt of an age-appropriate cancer screening test, health literacy, cancer knowledge, and perceptions about cancer screening at 6 months.

Results: The odds of having received a mammogram were 18.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.2, 37.4) times higher in the intervention than in the control group, adjusting for covariates. The odds of receiving a Papanicolaou test were 13.3 (95% CI = 7.9, 22.3) times higher; the odds of receiving both tests were 17.4 (95% CI = 7.5, 40.3) times higher. Intervention effects also included increases in health literacy and positive perceptions about cancer screening.

Conclusions: A health literacy-focused CHW intervention successfully promoted cancer-screening behaviors and related cognitive and attitudinal outcomes in Korean American women.

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