Background

Asian American and Pacific Islander women represent a significant at-risk population for breast cancer, with their mortality rates rising while rates fall for all other racial groups.

Methods

This 3-year study employed a quasi-experimental design to test the influence of an intervention on screening rates among women age 50 years and older in Southern California compared to Northern California.

Results

Despite significant exposure of women to the educational elements in Southern California, the intervention did not increase women's knowledge, attitudes, or screening behaviors.

Conclusions

We discuss several study design and implementation limitations that could have influenced the study's results.

We measured Hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission knowledge and self-reported screening/testing behavior among Pacific Islanders (Guamanians/Chamorros, Samoans, and Tongans) in Southern California. We also examined access and trust by Pacific Islanders of varying health information sources. We administered and analyzed survey data (N = 297), using a convenience sample in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties in spring 2009. We found that while Pacific Islander respondents reported that they receive health information from physicians, and largely trust this source, information from and trust in physicians were not statistically significant in explaining whether respondents sought HBV screening or vaccination.