A Community-Based Cervical Cancer Education and Navigation Program for Korean American Women

In the United States (US), rates of cervical cancer screening among Asian American women (notably Korean American women) lag far behind other populations. Thus, guided by the Health Belief Model, we developed a multi-component intervention to enhance Korean American women's knowledge and beliefs about screening and to increase screening uptake. The intervention group (N=341) received a culturally-relevant cancer education program and navigation services. The control group (N=335) received a similar program on cervical cancer risk and screening, along with information about free/low-cost screening sites. Women's knowledge and beliefs were measured at baseline and post-program, and screening behavior was assessed at 12-months post-program. It was hypothesized that the intervention would lead to positive changes in health beliefs and knowledge about cervical cancer and screening, which were then evaluated as potential mediators of the intervention on screening behavior. From pre- to post-program, the intervention group reported significantly greater increases in knowledge (p<0.01) and perceived risk (p=0.02) and significantly greater decreases in perceived barriers (p<0.001) compared to the control group. However, changes in knowledge and health beliefs did not mediate intervention effects on screening behavior. Use of navigation services was associated with greater odds of obtaining screening (OR=3.15, 95% CI=2.28-4.01, p<0.001) and attenuated the significant effect of group assignment (intervention vs. control) on screening behavior to non-significance. In conclusion, although our intervention program was effective in improving women's knowledge and beliefs about screening, delivery of navigation services was the critical component in increasing cervical cancer screening rates in this underserved population.