Increasing Referral Acceptance for Women's Health Services Among Hispanic Women

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Hispanic women face barriers to cervical cancer screening, including limited access to women's health services and knowledge deficits regarding risk factors.
• Primary care providers in eastern Pennsylvania often did not routinely discuss cervical cancer risks or offer preventive women's health services.
• A gap in preventive care for cervical cancer screening presented an opportunity for quality improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of an individualized educational intervention on women's health referral acceptance rates.
• To improve cervical cancer screening uptake among Hispanic women in primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project involving 65 Hispanic women in primary care.
• Participants received a brief (5-10 minute) individualized education session on cervical cancer risk factors.
• Referrals for well-woman examinations, with or without screening, were offered, and acceptance was recorded.

Main Results:

• A high acceptance rate (96.9%) for women's health referrals was observed following the educational intervention.
• The intervention effectively addressed knowledge gaps and encouraged uptake of preventive services.

Conclusions:

• Individualized education on cervical cancer risk factors is effective in increasing women's health referral acceptance among Hispanic women.
• Targeted educational interventions can help bridge gaps in preventive care and reduce health disparities.