Promising practices used by International Medical Graduate Physicians to increase cervical screening in South Asian and Chinese immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area

Abstract

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, with Pap tests being a widely accessible form of screening throughout Canada. However, participation in cervical cancer screening is historically lower in South Asian and Chinese immigrants. Previous literature showed that the risk of being under-screened is even higher for these women if they receive care from a provider that is from a culturally congruent region. This investigation aimed to qualitatively explore this phenomenon through the perspective of South Asian and Chinese International-Medical Graduate (IMG) physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify barriers to cervical screening faced by South Asian and Chinese immigrants across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), as well as promising practices that are currently being used by IMG physicians to increase cervical screening participation among their patients. Several barriers to and interventions designed to screening were identified at the individual, community, and health care provider level. Promising interventions include linguistically and culturally appropriate health education and access to a female provider.