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

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.