Online Program

292566
Geographic mobility and cancer screening in hispanic/Latinas living in the northeast, US


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Beth A. Jones, Ph.D, MPH, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., M.H.S., Equity Research and Innovation Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Cary P. Gross, M.D., Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Karen H. Wang, MD, MHS, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine/Department of Veterans Affairs-West Haven, New Haven, CT
Maxine A. Nunez, DrPH, MSN, RN, Division of Nursing Education, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas N, US Virgin Islands
Susan Nappi, MPH, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
Juliana Quintero, MA, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
Maria Rios, PhD Candidate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Yale Graduate School, New Haven, CT
Alejandra Miranda, BS, Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
Margaret Doyle, MPH, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
Background: The Northeast, US, and Connecticut in particular, is undergoing a major socio-demographic transformation driven by a significant uptick in immigration. The majority of the CT Hispanic/Latino/a (H/L) population is foreign born with ties to the Caribbean or Latin America and tends to be relatively transient. Using mixed methods, we sought to characterize geographic mobility or “paciente transitorio” status and understand its impact on cancer screening in H/Las living in the Northeast, U.S. Methods: Following a structured format, we conducted 5 focus groups in urban, community-living H/Ls (37 women, ages 35 and older) who had travelled outside CT in the previous 2 years. We expanded these efforts with a quantitative analysis of 319 women who received primary care in urban settings in 4 cities in CT. Results: Quantitative: Among 250 foreign born women in our cohort, 9.6% left the continental US for a month or more in the previous 2 years. Those who travelled were older (p = .02), had greater comorbidity (p =.05), yet were more likely to have a usual care provider (p=.02). Geographic mobility was not associated with receipt of screening mammogram in previous year. Qualitative: Preliminary results indicate that geographically mobile H/Las prefer to receive non-emergency care, including screening, from their usual source in CT. While communication within the health care setting was better when receiving care in their home countries, quality of care was better in the US. Conclusions: Geographic mobility is not a significant barrier to receiving screening mammograms among low-income H/Las living in the Northeast, US.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Define geographic mobility Identify the factors that characterize the geographically mobile subpopulation within a large immigrant Hispanic /Latina community residing in the Northeast, US. Discuss the impact of geographic mobility on cancer screening behavior

Keyword(s): Cancer Screening, Hispanic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal investigator of multiple federally funded and other peer-reviewed grants focusing on the epidemiology of cancer disparities. Much of my research has focused on cancer screening in underserved populations. I am the Principal Investigator of this investigation detailed in this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.