Study: Many Korean-American Women in Calif. Forgo Mammograms
Nearly half of Korean-American women in California do not obtain regular mammograms, possibly because of the high rate of uninsured individuals in that population, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Payers & Providers reports.
For the report, researchers used data from the California Health Information Survey.
The report found that just 51.8% of Korean-American women over age 40 in California had a mammogram in the past two years, compared with 72% of Asian women in the state and 79% of women in the state overall.
Researchers said the low screening rate could be due in part to the high number of uninsured Korean-Americans in California.
Ninez Ponce, principal investigator for the CHIS, said that 42.2% of Korean-Americans in the state lack health insurance -- the highest rate of uninsured residents among any demographic. In addition, she said Korean-Americans with jobs were less likely to have health care benefits than other demographic groups (Shinkman, Payers & Providers, 5/1).
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