320910
Pap Test Disparities in Asian and Pacific Islander American Women, and the Potential Impact of the Affordable Care Act in Reducing These Disparities
This study examined Pap test disparity in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) women. Aggregate data show that AA and NHPI women have the lowest cervical cancer incidence in the US. However, granular data show that Vietnamese (18.9) and Korean (11.9) American women have much higher cervical cancer incidence than Black (9), Hispanic (9.6), or White (6.9) women (incidence per 100,000 persons). Both aggregate and granular data show that AA and NHPI women have the lowest Pap test rates compared to any other racial groups. The proportions of women ever receiving Pap tests are: national 84.1%, AA and NHPI 71.6%, Chinese 64.9%, Korean 71%, Filipino 75.4%, and Vietnamese 76.2%.
Research shows that there are many barriers to getting Pap tests, e.g. fear of treatment, health seeking behavior, limited education, inability to navigate health systems, limited access to transportation, cultural and religious beliefs, limited English proficiency, limited health literacy, lack of funding for services, shortage of health interpreters, and restrictive eligibility/enrollment requirements for healthcare.
About 7 million AA and NHPI women are eligible for Pap tests. About 2.93 million AA and NHPI women are eligible to access Pap tests through the ACA (private insurance = 1 million; expanded coverage = 55,000; Medicare = 1.2 million; Medicaid = 675,000). Projections show that the number of AA and NHPI women in the US will double to 22 million by 2060. It is critical that ACA outreach and enrollment efforts reach all eligible AA and NHPI women to reduce Pap test disparities.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health educationChronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Discuss Pap test disparities among AA and NHPI women.
Describe the importance of analyzing both aggregate and disaggregate data, particularly in small population groups like AAs and NHPIs.
Assess the connection between data and policy and how that can reduce health and healthcare disparities.
Keyword(s): Cancer and Women’s Health, Health Disparities/Inequities
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a student research intern under the guidance of National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians (NCAPIP) and the UC Berkeley Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP) for over two years examining issues of health disparities using disaggregate data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.