Differences in social networks and colorectal cancer screening behavior among Vietnamese American immigrants

Background: Although social networks are known to affect a wide range of health outcomes, their influence on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening behavior remains unclear. We compared social network characteristics of Vietnamese American immigrants who had CRC screening with those who did not have CRC screening.

Methods: We conducted a follow-up survey to assess social networks among Vietnamese Americans aged 50-74 who were enrolled in a CRC screening intervention trial in Santa Clara County, California. Social network measures captured up to five of the respondent's network members whom they rely on for help with health-related information and assessed characteristics of these network members. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to investigate differences in social network characteristics by respondents' CRC screening status.

Results: Among 231 participants, the mean age was 59.5 years, 51% were males, and 38% had ever received CRC screening at time of follow-up. Respondents' networks had a mean of 4.1 members, with 1.4 relatives and 3.0 friends. Network members were, on average, 56.4 years old and had known the respondent for 19.5 years. GEE analyses revealed that respondents who had received CRC screening had more network members who had received screening (p=0.0006) and more who had encouraged them to have screening (p=0.0336) than respondents who had never received screening.

Conclusions: Differences in social network characteristics were evident between Vietnamese American immigrants who received CRC screening and those who did not. These findings have important implications for informing future interventions to leverage social networks for promoting cancer screening behaviors.