Abstract 4225: Disparities in cervical cancer screening participation: a comparison of Russian, Somali and Kurdish immigrants with the Finnish general population

Abstract

Abstract Background: Cervical cancer screening through Pap test has been shown as an effective preventive measure for early detection of precancerous in the cervix. Finland offers mass Pap test screening to all eligible women. Knowledge about disparities in the screening participation among immigrants compared with the Finnish general population is limited. Objectives: (1) To compare Pap test screening participation in the past five years among Russian, Somali and Kurdish immigrants living in Finland with the Finnish general female population; (2) to examine if the observed disparities remain similar when adjusted for socio- demographic and health-related confounding factors. Methods: Data from the Finnish Migrant Health and Well-being Study and Finnish Health 2011 Survey were used. Random samples of persons living in six cities in Finland were drawn from the national population registry. Data of self-reported cervical screening participation (Pap test) among women aged 29-60 were available from the women of Russian (n=257), Somali (n=113), Kurdish (n=167) origin and the general population (n= 436). Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. Results: The age-adjusted Pap test participation rates were 79% among the Russian, 41% among the Kurdish, and 64% among the Somali, compared to 94% among the Finnish general population. After adjusting for age, socio - demographic, and health-related confounders, the immigrants had significantly lower likelihood for screening compared with the Finnish reference group (Russian Odds Ratio[OR] 0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19-0.58; Somali [OR]0.08, [CI] 0.03-0.19; Kurdish [OR] 0.17 [CI]0.08-0.34). Conclusions: Initial results demonstrate significantly lower likelihood for Pap test screening among the immigrant groups compared with the Finnish general population. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Esther E. Idehen, Päivikki Koponen, Tommi Harkanen, Tellervo Korhonen. Disparities in cervical cancer screening participation: a comparison of Russian, Somali and Kurdish immigrants with the Finnish general population [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4225. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4225