Colorectal Cancer Screening among Chinese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese Immigrants in Chicago

• DOI: 10.1007/s40615-015-0095-x
• Publication Date: 2015-03-17T20:39:10Z
• Authors: Karen Kim; Edwin Chandrasekar; Helen Lam
• Keywords: Vietnamese; Chinese americans; Acculturation

Asian Americans are now the most rapidly growing minority group in the USA. Over 60 % of Asian Americans in the USA are immigrants. Cancer has been the leading cause of death among Asian Americans since 1980. Understanding the barriers to screening is essential to reduce the unnecessary burden of cancer. Little is known about colorectal cancer screening behavior among foreign-born Asian Americans and how socio-demographic factors may influence the behavior. Even less is known about disaggregated Asian subgroups. Using data from the Chicago Asian Community Survey, a local health assessment survey of three Asian subgroups in Chicago, Chinese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese, this study found that the colorectal cancer screening rate were much lower among foreign-born Asian Americans in Chicago (30 %) than the national rate for the general population (59 %). Furthermore, we studied disaggregated data to determine colorectal cancer screening differences between communities. Findings from this study provide a critical evidence base to inform future research and intervention designs.