Vietnamese American women in New Orleans East: Cervical cancer screening through LHW Program

Despite health research available to improve the quality of life among Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Vietnamese American health disparities information remains statistically underrepresented. Vietnamese Communities in low income areas are particularly affected by the lack of health resource information. For example, cervical cancer rates among Vietnamese women is five times greater than non-Hispanic White women. However, the Vietnamese community in New Orleans East historically receives no access to health promotion information on cancer screenings. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed two primary hospitals in the area, leaving the community with no access to quality health care. MQVN CDC, a non-profit community development organization responding to the needs of residents, leveraged the natural disaster as an opportunity to engage the community to take ownership of their health. Through a grant from OCAPICA and the CDC, MQVN CDC led a community based participatory research initiative: Prevention and Early Detection Screening program for Cervical Cancer. Consultants from the Vietnamese Reach for Health Initiatives (VRHI-REACH 2010) trained four Lay Health Workers (LHW's) from the Vietnamese Community in New Orleans East on cervical cancer screening and prevention. The four LHW's then recruited 15 women (60 total) to train and encourage screening through obtaining Pap smears. Tulane Community Health Clinic in New Orleans East informed MQVN CDC which participants received Pap smears upon attending the training sessions. Preliminary results show that sessions led by community LHW's, participatory incentives, and social networking result in participant behavioral change, as more women obtained cervical cancer Pap smear screening.