Language barriers hamper breast and cervical cancer screening efforts
According to a study of Chinese, Japanese, Hispanic and white women in the United States, reading and speaking only a language other than English as well as reading and speaking another language more fluently than English were associated with a drop in breast and cervical cancer screening rates.
The 1,247 women in the study sample were participants in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, which is a multiethnic, multidisciplinary study of menopausal women.
The study's authors said their findings indicated that language barriers that hinder a woman's access to pap smears, mammograms and clinical breast exams create disparities in screening rates.
"It is time to recognize the role that language barriers play in health disparities and to begin to equip health care providers with the kinds of linguistic and interpreter resources they need to overcome these barriers."
[From: "Limited English Proficiency and Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in a Multiethnic Population." Contact: Elizabeth A. Jacobs, MD, MPP, Chicago, ejacobs@rush.edu.]
The AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association, the oldest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. More information is available at http://www.apha.org.
Limba bariere împiedicã sân ºi cancerul de col uterin de screening eforturile - Language barriers hamper breast and cervical cancer screening efforts - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate