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

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.