Community‐Based Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Research in Asian Immigrant Populations

Abstract

Asian‐American women are less likely to receive mammography and Papanicolaou (Pap) testing than women from other racial/ethnic groups. Screening rates are particularly low among Asian women who are not proficient in English. This article focuses on community‐based breast and cervical cancer control research in Asian populations. First, the authors address community participatory research principles and several important program evaluation issues: sampling, survey methods, recruitment and retention, translation, data quality, and control group “contamination.” Second, the authors summarize community‐based studies that aimed to increase mammography or Pap testing levels among women of Asian descent. Overall, 9 relevant studies are identified that targeted Asian communities in Canada, the United States, and England. Overall, three of the studies randomized individual women to intervention or control status, two randomized groups of women, and four used a quasi‐experimental (two‐community) study design. These studies, which reported mixed results, highlight the methodological challenges in conducting evaluative public health research, particularly in racial/ethnic minority communities.