Increasing Referral Acceptance for Women's Health Services Among Hispanic Women

Nurs Womens Health. 2024 Aug;28(4):296-302. doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2024.02.005. Epub 2024 May 16.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of an individualized educational intervention on women's health referral acceptance rates among Hispanic women.

Design: Quality improvement (QI) project.

Setting/local problem: Barriers to cervical cancer screening among Hispanic women include a lack of access to women's health services and a lack of knowledge related to cervical cancer risk factors. Primary care providers at two medical clinics in eastern Pennsylvania did not routinely discuss cervical cancer risk factors, provide well-woman care, or perform cervical cancer screening during office visits. This gap in preventive care provided an opportunity for quality improvement.

Participants: A convenience sample of 65 self-identified Hispanic women presenting for primary care office visits.

Intervention/measurements: Each consenting participant received a one-on-one education session lasting 5 to 10 minutes regarding individual risk factors for cervical cancer. Each woman was offered a referral for a well-woman examination, with or without cervical cancer screening. Data collection included the participant's response to the offered referral.

Results: The majority of participants who received the educational intervention (96.9%, n = 63) accepted referrals for women's health services.

Conclusion: An educational intervention discussing individual cervical cancer risk factors was associated with increased women's health referral acceptance rates among Hispanic women.

Keywords: Hispanic women; cervical cancer screening; education; primary care provider; quality improvement; referral; risk factor; women’s health.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Early Detection of Cancer / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Services Accessibility / statistics & numerical data
  • Hispanic or Latino* / psychology
  • Hispanic or Latino* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Mass Screening / methods
  • Mass Screening / statistics & numerical data
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care* / ethnology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care* / statistics & numerical data
  • Patient Education as Topic / methods
  • Pennsylvania
  • Primary Health Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Quality Improvement
  • Referral and Consultation* / statistics & numerical data
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / ethnology
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / prevention & control
  • Women's Health Services* / statistics & numerical data