Predictors of cervical cancer screening for refugee women attending an international family medicine clinic in the United States.

PURPOSE: Cervical cancer screening (CCS) rates are lower for foreign-born women in the United States (U.S.) compared with the overall population. This study aimed to determine the CCS rate and predictors among refugees who were identified as female attending a family medicine clinic. METHODS: A retrospective chart review included refugee individuals aged 21+, seen in the previous 3 years (3/23/2015-3/20/2018), without hysterectomy (n = 525). Lab results determined CCS rate. Chi-square and logistic regression models explored predictors of CCS. RESULTS: Overall, 60.0% were up-to-date (UTD) on CCS. Individuals aged 30-49, married, and with [Formula: see text] 1 child had higher odds of being UTD. Ten or more years living in the U.S. was a significant bivariate predictor of CCS, and approached significance in the multivariate model. CONCLUSION: This study begins to fill gaps in knowledge about cervical cancer control among individuals who resettled in the U.S. as refugees and, given that CCS rates are suboptimal, informs clinical practice improvements and directions for future research.

Self-collection of samples for HPV testing to increase participation in cervical cancer screening by immigrant women: An integrative review.

OBJECTIVE: To examine methods and results of studies assessing self-collection of cervico-vaginal samples for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing by immigrant women for insights into how future research using this method with unique subpopulations of women may improve the rates of cervical cancer screening (CCS) compared to current strategies. DATA SOURCES: Four electronic databases were systematically searched through March 2020, with no limits applied. A manual review of reference lists was also completed. STUDY SELECTION: The search resulted in 63 articles. After removal of duplicates, 36 were reviewed against inclusion criteria. A manual review of reference lists yielded two additional studies. The final sample included 15 relevant publications representing 13 unique empirical studies. DATA EXTRACTION: Data related to study methodology and empirical results were extracted into table form. DATA SYNTHESIS: The methods of the studies were summarized and synthesized, including diversity of participants, community engagement, including collaboration with public health nurses or community health workers. In addition, methods and findings related to the educational components of the studies, and empirical findings related to various cultural groups, were described. CONCLUSION: To reduce health disparities in CCS, researchers should focus on diverse groups, such as immigrant women, to understand important individual and group-specific factors that may influence screening, including whether self-collection of samples for HPV testing along with appropriate education and support for follow-up will address these factors.

Breast cancer in the context of intimate partner violence: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe the experiences of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer while also encountering intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV was determined by scores on the Women's Experience With Battering Scale and the Abuse Assessment Screen. RESEARCH APPROACH: Qualitative interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of seven women. Data were analyzed with a hermeneutic phenomenologic approach. SETTING: Community settings in central Virginia and Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: 7 participants ranging in age from 37-63 years (X = 50 years); age at diagnosis ranged from 36-58 years (X = 46 years). All were in relationships with men, and relationship length ranged from 2-29 years (X = 12 years). METHODOLOGIC APPROACH: Each participant had one semistructured qualitative interview. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Experiences of women simultaneously experiencing breast cancer and IPV. FINDINGS: A number of themes emerged, including: (a) reassessing life, (b) believing that stress from the relationship caused the cancer, (c) valuing support from others, and (d) the significance of the breast. CONCLUSIONS: For all of the participants, the breast cancer diagnosis changed their intimate relationships in some way. The cancer was an opportunity for the women to engage in life review, focus inward, and, in some cases, change the relationship status. INTERPRETATION: Increased awareness and screening for IPV are needed in oncology clinical settings. Women with cancer are members of a vulnerable population and use the diagnosis to reassess their intimate relationships.

Revision of the Abuse Assessment Screen to address nonlethal strangulation.

The Abuse Assessment Screen has been used since 1987 to identify and assess for intimate partner violence in a wide variety of clinical and research settings. It has been translated and successfully used in at least 7 languages in addition to English. Meanwhile, a growing body of research indicates that nonlethal strangulation (commonly called "choking") is a significant form of intimate partner violence and that choking has substantial consequences for the health of the woman. This paper describes the modification of the Abuse Assessment Screen to include "choking."

The relationships among sexually transmitted infection, depression, and lifetime violence in a sample of predominantly African American women.

This study was a secondary analysis of the relationships among lifetime experiences of violence, depressive symptoms, substance use, safer sex behaviors use, and past-year sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment among a sample of 445 low income, primarily African American women (257 HIV-, 188 HIV+) reporting a male intimate partner within the past year. Twenty-one percent of HIV- and 33% of HIV+ women reported past-year STI treatment. Violence victimization increased women's odds of past-year STI treatment, controlling for HIV status and age. Depressive symptoms increased, and use of safer sex behaviors decreased, women's odds of past-year STI treatment. Results suggest that positive assessment for violence and/or depression indicates need for STI screening.