Vietnamese-American Women And Cervical Cancer Screening: A Missed Opportunity?

This article is a meta-analysis of literature that discusses receipt of immunizations by Vietnamese-American children, and receipt of cancer screening services by Vietnamese-American women. The results of the seven articles identified for inclusion in the meta-analysis were collated to determine what factors contribute to the discrepancies between Vietnamese-American children’s relatively high rates of immunizations, and Vietnamese-American women’s significantly low rates of Pap smear receipt. The article concludes that the difference in immunization rates for Vietnamese-American children, and cervical cancer screening rates for Vietnamese-American women, may be due to federally mandated vaccination requirements for all children entering school, and cultural barriers that dissuade women from receiving pap tests. The article suggests that providing outreach, education, and even cervical cancer screenings to Vietnamese-American women at pediatric and public health clinics that they frequent with their children, would provide an opportunity to increase cervical cancer screening rates for Vietnamese-American women