Associations Between Chinese Immigrant Women'S Social Network Use And Cancer Screening Behavior

INTRODUCTION: Increasing use of social media has changed how patients obtain healthcare information, with over 90% of residents in China interacting with healthcare information online. These social media preferences likely persist in the Chinese-American population, who have amongst the lowest cancer screening prevalence among ethnic minorities in the United States. We hypothesize that health-seeking behaviors and use of social media will predict up-to-date breast and cervical cancer screening in a cohort of Chinese immigrant women. Findings may guide future outreach efforts. METHODS: Survey data was collected for 732 Chinese women living in Chicago’s Chinatown area from 2013 to 2018 who participated in a patient navigation program. Questions included sociodemographic information, self-reported healthcare utilization and health information-seeking behaviors. RESULTS: Most respondents (60%) were aged 50 or older, had less than a college education (92%), and an annual income <$20,000 (55%). Nearly all (94%) spoke Chinese, and over 80% had public or no insurance. 44% have sought out health information, with the majority using the Internet. Of participants who responded to social network questions, 71% reported using social media, 55% of whom reported looking to contacts for health opinions and information. Seeking health information was associated with receiving appropriate Papanicolaou (within 5 years) and mammogram screening (within 2 years; all P<.05), whereas using social media trended towards receiving appropriate mammogram screening ( P= .08). CONCLUSION: As healthcare-seeking behavior and use of social media are associated with improved cervical and breast cancer screening, leveraging use of social media networks may help increase cancer screening behaviors in the Chinese-American population.