Purpose: To compare pap smear and mammogram screening adherence rates between refugee patients seen in a specialized OBGYN clinic to those of the general population of an OBGYN clinic in a large, safety-net hospital.
Background: Although multiple studies have shown resettled refugee women are less likely to receive women\'s preventative health screenings (i.e. pap smears and mammograms), a small number of studies have demonstrated the opposite. This study compares preventative health screening rates between refugee women at Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) Refugee Women’s Health Clinic (RWHC) and non-refugee women at BMC\'s general OBGYN Yawkey Ambulatory Care Clinic (YACC).
Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted at BMC from 01/01/2017-10/31/2018 comparing screening adherence rates between women seen at RWHC with those at YACC. All 160 RWHC patients seen during the study period between the age of 21-65 were age and date of visit matched to 160 women seen in YACC.
Results: Pap smear screening adherence rates were 89.4% in the RWHC group and 75.0% in the general clinic group (p < 0.001, aOR: 2.49, (1.08, 5.77)), and mammogram screening adherence rates were 35.5% and 40.3%, respectively (p=0.579).
Discussions: Refugee women seen at the RWHC had statistically significant higher rates of adherence to cervical cancer screening compared to those in the general YACC, though no difference was seen in mammogram screening adherence rates. This study supports previous literature showing that the provision of health services meeting the unique needs of refugee women can be effective in increasing adherence rates in some preventative women\'s health screenings.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2021, Student, Resident, Patient Care, GME, CME, UME, Global Health, General Ob-Gyn,
Sylvia Lobo, BA, Boston University School of Medicine; Jessica Lin, BA; Simone Vais, MD; Dongyu Wang, MPH; Courtney Steer-Massaro, CNM, FNP-C, RN, MPH
