ABSTRACT: Addressing barriers to cervical cancer screening as a public health priority in British Columbia requires innovative approaches. Community-based health promotion initiatives like Papapalooza connect the public with low-barrier cervical cancer screening and accessible health education, offering inclusive, celebratory, and trauma-informed Pap test experiences through pop-up events.
To determine whether patients support Papapalooza as a strategy to reduce screening barriers, we administered 354 pre-Pap surveys and 309 post-Pap surveys to 533 Papapalooza attendees at five events held between March and June 2023. Identified barriers included inaccessible primary care, provider-related factors, and personal factors. Surveys showed increased knowledge and comfort accessing and understanding the importance of screening, with 93.8% of post-Pap survey participants “very likely” to attend another Papapalooza.
Community-based health promotion is an acceptable means of connecting patients with important screening, while creating meaningful opportunities to enhance health literacy.
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Family Medicine Residency Site: Abbotsford-Mission 