Cervical cancer screening among English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanic women in an urban safety net health system, 2015-2020

BMC Womens Health. 2023 Jun 15;23(1):309. doi: 10.1186/s12905-023-02448-3.

Abstract

Background: The Hispanic population is heterogeneous with differences in health behaviors across subgroups by nativity and preferred language. We evaluated cervical cancer screening adherence among English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients receiving care at a safety net health system.

Methods: Electronic health records were used to identify 46,094 women aged 30-65. Up to date (UTD) screening was defined based on date of last Pap test, human papillomavirus (HPV) test, or Pap/HPV co-test.

Results: Overall, 81.5% of 31,297 Hispanic women were UTD. English-speaking Hispanic women had a lower prevalence of being UTD when compared to Spanish-speaking Hispanic women (aPR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.93 - 0.96). Further, those with indigent healthcare plans had a higher prevalence of being UTD when compared to those with private insurance (aPR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.09 - 1.12), while all other health insurance plans were associated with lower UTD screening when compared to private insurance.

Conclusions: These findings suggest screening differences within the Hispanic population, highlighting the need for disaggregated research assessing heterogeneity within racial/ethnic groups, specifically among Hispanic populations.

Keywords: Cervical cancer prevention; Disaggregation; Hispanic populations; Nativity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Early Detection of Cancer
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Language
  • Middle Aged
  • Papillomavirus Infections*
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / prevention & control