UCLA

Cervical cancer (CC), although preventable, is a significant cause of deaths among Mexican Immigrant Women (MIW). This study applied the Health Belief Model to MIW and their husbands to (a) explore support provided to MIW from their husbands with varying degrees of CC knowledge, awareness, and understanding of Pap testing; and (b) determine the relationship between MIW’s knowledge and health beliefs (susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy) and their screening behaviors. A sample of 110 married couples including MIW were recruited from 2 public community centers. Questionnaires in English and Spanish were administered, including the HPV/Cervical Cancer and Screening Knowledge Scale, Cervical Cancer Screening Self-Efficacy Scale, the Bi-Dimensional Acculturation Scale, and the Spousal Support Scale. It was hypothesized that husbands’ support for their wives, and MIW’s knowledge, health beliefs (susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy), and perceived spousal support would be positively related to MIW’s screening behaviors. However, only MIW’s health beliefs of susceptibility and benefits were related to screening behavior in logistic regression analyses. The sample, recruited from community centers that had unusually good services for encouraging health care, may not have been representative of the broad MIW population. On the other hand, the findings added to an understanding of the often complex relationships between perceptions of husbands’ support and their wives’ CC screening behaviors. The findings also supported the benefits of local well established and resourced community centers. It is hoped that these insights can help shape future research and practice in this vitally important field.