Secondhand Smoke in the Home and Pap Testing Among Vietnamese American Women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to report the prevalence of Vietnamese households with smokers and examinePapanicolau (Pap) testing among Vietnamese American women living in households with and without smokers.In 2002, we surveyed Vietnamese between 18 and 64 years of age from a population-based sample of randomlyselected households in Seattle, Washington zip codes known to have a high density of Vietnamese residents. Theresponse rate among eligible households was 82%, and our sample included 418 households. We used twomeasures of Pap testing: ever had a Pap test and had one in the last two years. Household smoking status wascategorized as current smoker in the house vs. no current smoker in the house. Overall, 47% of VietnameseAmerican women lived with a current smoker in the household, 73% had ever received a Pap test, and 63%received one in the last two years. Pap testing behavior varied only slightly by household smoking status, andthe findings were not statistically significant. With nearly half of Vietnamese women in our study currentlyliving with smokers, future studies should examine the relationship between secondhand smoke at home andother health behaviors in Vietnamese American households.