Aisha Kamilah O. Lofters Cervical Cancer Screening Among Ontario’s Urban Immigrants Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation University of Toronto Background: The majority of cervical cancers can be prevented because of the highly effective screening tool, the Papanicolaou (Pap) test. Relevant guidelines recommend routine screening for nearly all adult women. However, inequities in screening exist in Ontario. This dissertation, consisting of three studies, uses administrative data to advance knowledge on barriers to cervical cancer screening for Ontario’s urban immigrant population. Methods: First, we developed and validated a billing code-based algorithm for cervical cancer screening. We then implemented this algorithm to examine screening rates in Ontario among women with various sociodemographic characteristics for 2003-2005. Second, we compared the prevalence of appropriate cervical cancer screening in Ontario in 2006-2008 among immigrant women from all major geographic regions of the world and Canadian-born women. Third, we used a stratified multivariate analysis to determine if the independent effects of various factors that could serve as screening barriers were modified by region of origin for immigrant women for 2006-2008. Results: Our first study showed that our algorithm was 99.5% sensitive and 85.7% specific, and that screening inequities in Ontario’s urban areas are largest among women 50 years and older, living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods and new to the province. In our second study, we determined that immigrant women had significantly lower screening rates than their peers, with the most pronounced differences seen for South Asian women aged 50 years and above. In the final study, we demonstrated that living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods, being younger than 35 years or older than 49 years, not being enrolled in a primary care enrolment model, having a male provider, and having a provider from the same region of the world each significantly influenced screening for immigrant women regardless of region of origin. Conclusion: These results add to the literature on health equity in cancer screening. Our findings demonstrate that Ontario’s urban immigrant women experience significant inequities in cervical cancer screening, and may offer guidance toward targeted patient and physician interventions to decrease screening gaps.

Aisha Kamilah O. Lofters Cervical Cancer Screening Among Ontario’s Urban Immigrants Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation University of Toronto Background: The majority of cervical cancers can be prevented because of the highly effective screening tool, the Papanicolaou (Pap) test. Relevant guidelines recommend routine screening for nearly all adult women. However, inequities in screening exist in Ontario. This dissertation, consisting of three studies, uses administrative data to advance knowledge on barriers to cervical cancer screening for Ontario’s urban immigrant population. Methods: First, we developed and validated a billing code-based algorithm for cervical cancer screening. We then implemented this algorithm to examine screening rates in Ontario among women with various sociodemographic characteristics for 2003-2005. Second, we compared the prevalence of appropriate cervical cancer screening in Ontario in 2006-2008 among immigrant women from all major geographic regions of the world and Canadian-born women. Third, we used a stratified multivariate analysis to determine if the independent effects of various factors that could serve as screening barriers were modified by region of origin for immigrant women for 2006-2008. Results: Our first study showed that our algorithm was 99.5% sensitive and 85.7% specific, and that screening inequities in Ontario’s urban areas are largest among women 50 years and older, living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods and new to the province. In our second study, we determined that immigrant women had significantly lower screening rates than their peers, with the most pronounced differences seen for South Asian women aged 50 years and above. In the final study, we demonstrated that living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods, being younger than 35 years or older than 49 years, not being enrolled in a primary care enrolment model, having a male provider, and having a provider from the same region of the world each significantly influenced screening for immigrant women regardless of region of origin. Conclusion: These results add to the literature on health equity in cancer screening. Our findings demonstrate that Ontario’s urban immigrant women experience significant inequities in cervical cancer screening, and may offer guidance toward targeted patient and physician interventions to decrease screening gaps.

Chatelaine, Canada’s longest running women’s magazine (1928-present), has seen various changes in relation to women’s presence in society, specifically women’s health and bodies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the framing methods employed in the presentation of health content in relation to the evolution of feminism throughout this publication’s existence. Drawing upon Michel Foucault’s (1979; 1980) investigation of power, the body, and sexuality; Susan Bordo’s (1993b) feminist theorizing on the cultural meanings of the female body; Erving Goffman’s (1974) Frame Analysis; and further theoretical foundations of frame analysis by scholars in media and communication studies, this thesis examines the ways which health knowledge in Chatelaine aids in the empowerment and modernization of women. The research design of this thesis employs a quantitative media content analysis and qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews to explore the presence and production of health content in this publication between 1928 and 2010. Findings demonstrate Chatelaine’s interaction with the feminist movement in Canada—as feminist initiatives and activism in Canada flourish, Chatelaine covers an increasingly broad and diverse body of health topics. The analyses reveal the sophistication in Chatelaine’s health content, which is evidenced in the employment of various journalistic techniques that aid in the development of an increasingly pervasive media text. In doing so, Chatelaine demonstrates its ability to empower women through current, clear, and concise health knowledge.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Feb. 6, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2005. / Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Prepared for: Dept. of Adult Health Nursing. Bibliography: leaves 107-116.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2002. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 1999. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.