Sarah Vo

Examining Multilevel Neighborhood Socioeconomic Characteristics Associated With Colorectal Cancer Screening in Vietnamese Americans Residing in Philadelphia County

Sarah Vo,¹ Aisha Bhimla, PhD,¹ Shaina Twardus, BS;¹ Lin Zhu, PhD,¹ Timmy Lin, MPH,¹ Phuong Do, BA,¹ Grace X. Ma, PhD^1,2

¹Center for Asian health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
²Department of Clinical Sciences, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is one of the most widespread and deadliest cancers. Vietnamese Americans exhibit persistently lower screening rates compared to the general United States population, which is due to cultural, economic, and environmental barriers. The impact of environmental factors in particular is not well known. This study aims to elucidate environmental factors affecting CRC screening rates among Vietnamese Americans.

Methods: A total of 517 Vietnamese Americans 50 years and older residing in Philadelphia County were included in the study. Surveys were collected to determine CRC screening behavior (colonoscopy and Fecal Immunochemical Test) and sociodemographic characteristics. Individual neighborhood characteristics, which included the Walk Score was obtained based on the participant’s address. Neighborhood characteristics were calculated using census-tract level data for the social deprivation index, ethnic composition, and presence of hospitals or federally qualified health centers (FQHC).

Results: The generalized linear mixed model revealed that residing in an ethnically dense neighborhood was negatively associated with CRC screening (β=-0.67, SE=0.29, p=0.01), while social deprivation (β=0.30, SE=0.27, p=0.27) and presence of FQHCs or hospitals (β=0.16, SE=0.30, p=0.58) were not significant. Individual neighborhood characteristics including the Walk Score (β=0.21, SE=0.26, p=0.43) was not associated with CRC screening behavior.

Discussion: Neighborhood characteristics, specifically ethnic density is associated with lower uptake of screening in this population. Future interventions should aim to target specific Asian neighborhoods that experience disparities in screening. 

Acknowledgement: This research project was supported by grant U01MD010627 (PI: Grace X. Ma, PhD) and U54CA153513 NIH U54 Supplement (PI: Grace X. Ma, PhD) funded by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of National Institute of Health (NIH), and partially supported by the grant of U54 CA221704(5) funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of NIH (Contact PIs: Grace X. Ma, PhD and Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, MD, PhD). The contents of this abstract are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIMHD or the NCI, NIH.

Email questions and comments about this abstract to mai.vo@temple.edu.