A Community-Based Survey of Colorectal Cancer Screening Behaviors in Chinese Immigrants Residing in a Major Metropolitan Area.

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer is a common cause of screening preventable death in Chinese immigrants, but colorectal cancer screening rates remain low in this population. This study evaluated factors associated with colorectal cancer screening behaviors in Chinese Americans living in New York City.

METHODS

Participants were foreign-born Chinese Americans, aged 50 years or older, who completed internet surveys between November 2020 and May 2021 regarding their colorectal cancer screening behaviors. Data were collected on demographics, health care utilization, participants' levels of health literacy, English proficiency, colorectal cancer perceptions and current colorectal cancer screening behaviors. Bivariate analyses using chi-square or t-tests were performed to examine associations between colorectal cancer screening behaviors and participant characteristics.

RESULTS

103 participants were surveyed with a mean age of 71.3 years. Most participants experienced high rates of socioeconomic disadvantage (i.e., less than a high school education, annual household income <$20,000, limited health literacy, and poor English proficiency). 92% were ever screened, 81% were up-to-date on screening, and 85% expressed intention to screen in the future. Almost all participants had a primary care provider and a language concordant provider. Individuals who intended to screen were more fearful of developing colorectal cancer (3.2 vs 2.8, p=0.02) and perceived a colorectal cancer diagnosis with greater severity (3.0 vs 2.7, p=0.07) than those without intention to screen.

CONCLUSIONS

In our sample, Chinese immigrants were adversely impacted by multiple social determinants of health but reported high colorectal cancer screening rates. Community-based outreach is critical to ensuring cancer-screening engagement in medically vulnerable populations.