Southeast Asian Women’s Health Project

Cancer is the leading cause of death for Southeast Asian refugee and immigrant women. Cambodian, Lao, and Vietnamese (hereafter referred to as SEAR/I) women have disproportionately high incidence rates of breast and cervical cancers. Breast cancer incidence increased significantly for all Asians from 1988 to 2013, but the largest increase was in SEAR/I women (APC=2.5, 95% CI 0.8, 4.2). Over the past two decades, SEAR/I women experienced significant increases in breast cancer incidence across age groups compared to other Asian and White women. Lao and Cambodian women are 2.5 times and Vietnamese women are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than are White women. Despite evidence that regular screening through mammography and Pap testing reduces breast and cervical cancer mortality, SEAR/I women continue to have strikingly low rates of screening (75.4% for Pap tests and 64.1% for mammography), well below the Healthy People 2020 target of 93% and 81.1%, respectively. Drawing on successful tailored navigation interventions, the purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a culturally-relevant, tailored navigation intervention delivered through bilingual and bicultural Community Health Advisors (CHAs) for intergenerational SEAR/I women (mother-daughter dyads). Ethnically matched CHAs will use the tested Tailored Intervention Messaging System (TIMS©) to educate and navigate participants from the community to health clinic to complete mammography and/or Pap testing.

Our specific aims are to:

AIM 1: Test the efficacy of tailored navigation intervention delivered by SEA community health advisors (CHA+TN) to increase age-appropriate breast and cervical cancer screening completion compared to an information and reminder only control among intergenerational SEAR/I dyads.

H1: The intervention group (CHA+TN) will have significantly higher age-appropriate breast and cervical cancer screening rates compared with the control group (information + reminder only).

AIM 2: Examine the underlying mechanisms (both mediating and moderating factors) associated with the intervention (CHA+TN) that influence breast and cervical cancer screening completion.

Exploratory AIM 3: Explore in greater detail the influence of intergenerational exchange of information between mothers and daughters related to breast and cervical cancer screening.