Colorectal cancer screening disparities in Asian Americans: the influences of patient-provider communication and social media use

Purpose We examined the role of patient-provider communication (PPC) during in-person visits and via electronic communication and social media use on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among Asian Americans (AAs) and Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs) aged 50 and older. Methods Health Information National Trends Survey 2017–2020 data were analyzed. Results AAs tended to evaluate the quality of PPC during their in-person visits to a health care provider lower than NHWs. AAs’ CRC screening rate was lower than the rate of NHWs (78.8% vs. 84.4%). After adjusting for sociodemographics, healthcare access, and health status, the quality of PPC was the only significant predictor associated with a lower probability of CRC screening among AAs (Adjusted OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.56, 0.96); while the Internet to communicate with a health care provider was the only significant predictor of CRC screening among NHWs (Adjusted OR 1.76; CI 1.11, 2.79). AAs were more likely to use YouTube to watch a health-related video than NHWs (43.5% vs, 24%). However, social media use was not associated with CRC screening in both AAs and NHWs. Conclusion Use of electronic communication technology may contribute to improve health information literacy and reduce the disparity. On-line communication may empower the culturally and linguistically diverse AAs by improving their confidence in communication with health care providers. Thus, communication technologies need to be strategically utilized and tailored to better meet the communication needs of racial/ethnic minorities. Online communication technologies may reduce the disparities in PPC related to cancer screening and cancer burden experienced by AAs.