Abstract

Women’s access to health care is a prevalent issue in the United States. With the rising costs of health care, the lack of access to services and health care education, and the ongoing political debate over women’s health, women are a key demographic group continuing to suffer from the current health care crisis. For women of color, specifically Hispanic women, they experience some of the highest cancer incidence rates and lowest amount of health care coverage. This crisis is of the utmost importance to the health care providers and insurance companies because of their financial investment. Health care services are not only expensive to patients but to the professionals leading the health care industry. The answer to solving the health care cost dilemma is to increase the number of individuals receiving preventative services. This thesis will address the cost-effectiveness of female prevention care versus treatment care as a business model for the health care industry by looking at the successfulness of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine and pap tests as methods of preventing cervical cancer in the United States. It will specifically address the disproportionate rates of cervical cancer existing among Hispanic women due to the socioeconomic barriers many of these women face to healthcare access and health literacy proficiency.