Abstract B63: Factors associated with cancer screening practices among Asian Indians
Authors: Advani Pragati , Advani Shailesh , Gor Beverly , Vaithianathan Dorai , Kanchan Kabad , Pande Mala 
Published: May 2016

Background: Asian Indians represent one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the United States; a population that grew from less than 0.5% in 1960 to almost 5% in 2011; and is expected to exceed 40 million by the year 2050 comprising of 10% of the total U.S. population then. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death among this population. Non-adherence to screening recommendations remains a concern as cancer is often detected at a later stage.

Purpose: To examine specific factors associated with cancer screening practices among Asian Indians in the Greater Houston area.

Methods: The data analyzed were from the South Asian Health Needs Assessment (SAHNA) project, a community survey carried out in 2013-2014 by the Indian American Cancer Network (IACAN), in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center. Participants included 1525 self-identified Asian Indians, 18 years or older, living in the Greater Houston area. We used logistic regression models to examine associations between various factors including demographic characteristics, perceived risk for cancer and knowledge regarding cancer screening for their association with multiple cancer screening practices. The screening outcomes analyzed were as follows: if participants ever had a mammogram or clinical breast exam and if had them within past 1 year for breast cancer; if they ever had a pap test or had it in past 3 years for cervical cancer; if ever had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer; and ever had colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening. Age and gender specific recommendations for various cancer screenings were considered in creating sub-groups to analyze.

Results: The average participant age was 47 years (range = 18-87 years), of which 52% were males, 82% were married, 48% had yearly income of &gt;100,000$, 83% had at least 4 years of college education, and 88% had some form of health insurance. 85% women greater than 40 years of age had ever had a mammogram, and 70% of those had mammogram in last year, whereas, 75% of all women ever had a clinical breast exam and 73% of those had clinical breast exam within last year. 80% of all women had ever had a pap test and 85% of those had it in past 3 years. Among men older than 40 years of age, 31% had a PSA screening. Among both women and men above 50 years of age, 42% ever had either a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Of all the factors studied, participant age, marital status, income, education, and insurance status had significant associations with at least one or more cancer screening behaviors. Whereas, contrary to expectations, according to behavioral theory proposed by the Health Belief Model, perceived risk for cancer and knowledge regarding screening practices were not associated with any of the cancer screening behaviors.

Conclusion: For the Asian Indian community in this study, demographic characteristics were associated with adherence to various cancer screening practices more than their personal perceptions and knowledge. Therefore, outreach efforts to increase cancer screening practices should be targeted towards the younger age group, unmarried/single, with low income, less education and those lacking health insurance. Further studies are recommended to examine the role of perceived risk and knowledge with cancer screening practices, among the growing Asian Indian community in the US.

Citation Format: Pragati Advani, Shailesh Advani, Beverly Gor, Dorai Vaithianathan, Kabad Kanchan, Mala Pande. Factors associated with cancer screening practices among Asian Indians. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B63.