Prevalence and Correlates of Breast and Cervical Cancer screening among the Latina women in the United States
Introduction
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among the United State population after heart associated diseases. It is approximated that nearly 600,000 of people in the United States die each year due to breast and cervical cancer among women (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention Leading Causes of Death). However, these numbers have declined over the period of the last forty years due to the introduction of regular screening methods that are used to detect the diseases early enough, and set up control mechanisms among patients. However, there are still cases of approximately 4,000 lives that are lost annually due to the cancer related illnesses. Breast cancer is the most prevalent, affecting all women regardless of their race or ethnicity. Breast cancer has also been recognized as the leading cause of high mortality rate among the Latinas, and the second leading cause of death among the non-Hispanic White, the African American, the Asian American, as well as the native women. The high mortality rates caused by cervical and breasts cancer are associated with the low adherence to cervical and breast cancer screening recommendations among the women in the US. The purpose of this research paper is to estimate the prevalence and factors that are associated with the last 12 months Pap smear mammogram receipt among the Latino Midwest community women in in Dane County, Wisconsin State.
Background and Literature Review
There are numerous discrepancies in breast and cervical cancer by culture and race among women in the United States. The Latino group of community has been adversely affected by high mortality rates due to breast and cervical cancer. Notably, the cancer cases among the women are diagnosed at later stages of development. It is significant to note early detection of breast and cervical cancer through regular Pap smears and mammograms is significant in reducing their mortality rate (American Cancer Society, 2011). The implementation of this techniques in the United States has contributed to reducing the mortality rates among all the US population for the last three years (Schiffman et al., 2007). In 2010, for instance, it was approximated that nearly 59.9 % of women above 40 years reported to have received a mammogram in the past years (American Cancer Society, 2011). The Latinas, however, have recorded the lowest rates of Pap smear and mammogram receipt (American Cancer Society, 2011). This indication, therefore, calls for action in order to reduce the inconsistencies in cervical and breast cancer incidences, deaths, and screening among the minority women in the United States. This paper, therefore, focuses on the barriers and facilitators of cervical and breast cancer among the Latinas.
The Latinas are the largest minority group in the United States that contributes 16.3% of the total US population (Passel, Cohn & Lopez, 2011). Each day, approximately 2,000 and 14, 200 Latinos are diagnosed with uterine cervix cancer and breast cancer respectively (Jemal et al., 2013)
Methodology
A cross sectional study research entailing 278 Latina immigrants found in Dane county, Wisconsin State was conducted. The participants filled in a self-administered questionnaire. The final questionnaire was constructed through a social economic model measure from the review of literature on cervical and breast cancer among the Latin
Variables
The instrument entailed questions about cervical and breast cancer screening history with the following variables;
- Social demographics
- Knowledge and attitudes about screening,
- Structural factors
- Cultural beliefs related to cervical and breast cancer screening
Research Question and Hypothesis
The participants were asked whether they had ever undertaken Pap smear and the last time they had it. Similar questions asked about antiquity of mammogram receipt. Grounded on answers to the questions, women were categorized as having or not having ever received a Pap smear / mammogram; and as having or not having received a Pap smear / mammogram within 12 months prior to the investigation. The hypothesis of the research was to estimate the prevalence and factors that are associated with the last 12 months Pap smear mammogram receipt among the Latino Midwest community
Data Collection
A group of 300 participants was initially targeted for the research in order to get a strong statistical power. Anoverall of 353 women accomplished the standard questionnaire. A further 75 women of the 353 completed the earlier constructed questionnaire and the other 278 completed the revised final questionnaire. The 278 women provided the analytical sample of the research in giving data. All the analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics Version.
Conclusion
Adjustable individual, mechanical, and traditional factors contribute to low level rates of cervical and breast cancer screening among the Latina women.
References
American Cancer Society (2011). Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures. American Cancer Society; Atlanta.
Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention Leading Causes of Death.<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm>.
Jemal, A., Simard, E. P., Dorell, C., Noone, A. M., Markowitz, L. E., Kohler, B., & Cronin, K. A. (2013). Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2009, featuring the burden and trends in human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated cancers and HPV vaccination coverage levels. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, djs491.
Passel, J. S., Cohn, D., & Lopez, M. H. (2011). Hispanics account for more than half of nation’s growth in past decade. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.
Schiffman, M., Castle, P. E., Jeronimo, J., Rodriguez, A. C., &Wacholder, S. (2007). Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer. The Lancet, 370(9590), 890-907.