The Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project (VCHPP) is dedicated to cancer prevention in the Vietnamese community through health education. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention during 1999-2000, the VCHPP collaborated with the Vietnamese REACH for Health Initiative (VRHI). The geographic area targeted is Santa Clara County, California, the second densest population of Vietnamese in the U.S. The end goal of the needs assessment was to reduce the incidence of invasive cervical cancer among Vietnamese women, through development of a Community Action Plan (CAP). The CAP’s objectives were to implement sustainable programs to increase awareness about cervical cancer, promote Pap smear screening, and obtain appropriate medical care among low-income and uninsured Vietnamese American women. To ascertain the barriers encountered by Vietnamese women, the VCHPP and VRHI sponsored two successful community forums in Santa Clara County featuring guest speakers, prize incentives, and group discussions. Approximately 200 Vietnamese women attended each forum. The first forum yielded valuable information concerning the cultural and linguistic barriers to cervical screening that these women encountered. Utilizing this information, the VCHPP and VRHI developed a CAP comprised of 6 intervention components targeting patients, providers, and health care delivery system. The second forum sought to obtain community’s approval of the CAP before submitting proposal to CDC to support its implementation.
The success of our coalition and community-based in assessing the needs of the Vietnamese community in Santa Clara County resulted in the CDC awarding the VCHPP a 4-year grant to implement 6 component interventions.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: 1) understand that Vietnamese American women have a cervical cancer rate 5 times higher than their white counterparts; 2) identify and understand major barriers preventing Vietnamese American women from requesting and receiving Pap smears, and 3) describe a Community Action Plan targeting cervical cancer screening. This comprehensive, 6-component intervention was developed as a result of a collaborative effort between the Vietnamese REACH for Health Initiative Coalition, the UCSF Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project, and the Vietnamese community in Santa Clara County, California.
Keywords: Cancer Screening, Underserved Populations
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.