Research Objective: Initiatives to address social determinants of health (SDOH) and measure health-related social needs (HRSN) within clinic settings are increasing. However, few have focused on the specific needs of Asian Americans (AA). We examine the prevalence of HRSN during a period spanning the COVID-19 pandemic to inform strategies to improve cancer screening and primary care among AA patients.Methods: We implemented a self-administered HRSN screening tool in English and Chinese, traditional (T) or simplified (S) text, within a hospital-affiliated, outpatient primary care practice predominantly serving AA in New Jersey. HRSN items included food insecurity, transportation barriers, utility needs, interpersonal violence, housing instability, immigration history, and neighborhood perceptions on cohesion and trust. We conducted medical chart reviews for a subset of participants to explore the relationship between HRSN and history of cancer screening.Results: Among 236 participants, most were Asian (74%), non-US born (79%), and privately insured (57%). One-third responded in Chinese (37%). Half reported having ≥1 HRSN. Interpersonal violence was high across all participants. Transportation needs were highest among Chinese-T participants, while food insecurity and housing instability were higher among Chinese-S participants. Lower-income patients had higher odds of having ≥2 HRSN (OR:2.53, 95% CI: 1.12, 5.98). Older age and public insurance/uninsured were significantly associated with low neighborhood perceptions.Conclusions: We observed higher than anticipated reports of HRSN among primary care patients in a suburban, hospital-affiliated practice serving AA. Low neighborhood perceptions, particularly among Chinese-S participants, highlight the importance of addressing broader SDOH among insured, suburban AA patients. These study findings inform the need to augment HRSN identification to adequately address social needs that impact health outcomes and life course experiences for Asian patients. As HRSN measuring efforts continue, and COVID-19's impact on the health of minority communities emerge, it will be critical to develop community-specific referral pathways to connect AA to resources for HRSN and continue to address more upstream social determinants of health for those who are disproportionately impacted.
108 Background: Rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are rising in the US. Patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Cancer Center (SBMC) present with late-stage HCC at higher rates (29%) compared to the national (16%). Chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) and Hepatitis B (HBV) are major drivers of liver cancer, yet screening rates are low. Finding these missing millions is important to reducing rates of HCC. An automated emergency department (ED) viral hepatitis (VH) screening program was initiated in 2018 at SBMC. In January 2020, it was expanded to the inpatient setting and HCV screening was modified from cohort screening (those born in 1945-65) to a one time test for anybody 18 years or over, per updated Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and USPSTF (US Preventive Services Taskforce) recommendations. Methods: The electronic medical record (EMR) was modified to automate screening. HBV testing is triggered by a patient’s country of birth or race, and HCV testing is triggered by age over 18 and no previous testing. The automated HCV (HCV Ab with reflex to HCV RNA) or HBV (HBsAg) lab orders lead to an EMR notification to the nurses of patient eligibility and education is provided to patients. Alerts of positive results are sent to nursing staff, physicians, and the patient navigator (PN). The PN is sent a real-time secure text message and works individually with patients to arrange linkage-to-care (LTC) for evaluation and treatment. Results: From March 2018 - December 2020, 44,002 patients were screened for HCV and 884 (2.0%) were HCVAb+ and 242 (0.55%) HCV RNA+. For HBV, 21,328 patients were screened and 212 (0.99%) were HBsAg+. The expanded screenings accounted for 8,716 (19.8%) of the total HCV screenings. Individuals born outside the 1945-65 birth cohort (younger and older) made up 76.2% of those screened and 41% of the infected. The top 3 countries for HBV screenings were Haiti, Jamaica, and Ecuador. LTC rates, defined as attending first medical appointment or already in care, were 86.8% for HCV and 85.4% for HBV. Of those linked to care, 43 HCV+ patients were seen at a outpatient primary care practice part of SBMC, and of those, 39 initiated HCV cure therapy and 33 were cured (confirmed sustained virologic response at 12 weeks), and 35 HBV+ patients were seen and 6 initiated treatment. Conclusions: This automated program for VH has led to a significant scale up of screening with successful LTC and treatment of patients. Expansion to universal screening of all adults and to the inpatient setting found additional viral hepatitis patients who would have otherwise been missed. In addition to the automated screening, a multidisciplinary team including internists, pharmacists, and patient navigators were part of creating a primary care based program. Integration of viral hepatitis screening and care in a hospital system can be initial steps towards establishing liver cancer prevention program.
BackgroundResearch participation by minority individuals is critical to address health disparities, and lack of trust in research/researchers (TIR) is a significant barrier to participation. Few existing studies examine the relationship between level of TIR and hypothetical research participation in a sufficiently diverse sample.MethodsThe survey was conducted among White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian community‐dwelling adults in New Jersey (N = 293 between October 2020 and January 2022). A 12‐item TIR measure based on published scales was developed with input from community partners. Respondents were also asked if they would participate in different types of research (i.e. survey, blood draw, medication study). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying structure of TIR. Cluster analysis on research participation was conducted to determine patterns. Regression‐based mediation analysis was done to determine relationship between race/ethnicity, TIR, and hypothetical research participation.ResultsResponses were collected from 293 adults, with 38% reporting ages of 55 years or older. Factor analysis revealed three main factors on 9‐items related to Researchers as Fiduciaries (lowest score in Chinese adults), Equity in Research (highest score in White adults), and Transparency in Research. Cluster analysis revealed two major clusters: one cluster only willing to participate in anonymous health‐related surveys, and the other highly willing to participate in studies involving blood tests and genetic analysis. Only Chinese race/ethnicity was associated with lower Researchers as Fiduciaries scores (B = ‐0.54, 95% CI‐0.85 to ‐0.23, p = 0.0007), with the mediation model (Sobel Z of ‐3.22, p<0.001, k2 = 0.13) showing a direct effect of ‐0.64 (95% CI ‐1.36 to 0.08, p = 0.08) and indirect effect of ‐0.69 (95% CI ‐1.06 to ‐0.32, p = 0.001) from Chinese race/ethnicity on participation willingness.ConclusionChinese respondents showed low trust in researchers to serve as their fiduciaries, which mediated their low willingness to participate in research involving more than health‐related surveys. All non‐White groups also endorsed inequity in treatment by researchers, but Hispanic and Black adults were still likely to be interested in minimal risk (blood draw, genetic analysis) research participation. These findings call for community‐specific approaches to enhance biomedical research participation among non‐White adults.
Background Globally, HBV is the most common blood-borne infection. An estimated 1.2 million people in the US and 350 million worldwide lived with HBV, a primary driver of liver cancer. It is endemic in many parts of the world and is a major health disparity in immigrant communities, including the US, which has the largest immigrant population in the world. Asian American Pacific Islanders are 5% of the total population in the US, but represent 50% of people living with HBV. In 2016, WHO set a goal of hepatitis elimination by 2030 but with only 10% of those living with HBV diagnosed, screening must be scaled up. Methods Modifications were made in the electronic medical record (EMR) to automate screening, with HBV (HBsAg) orders triggered by a patient’s country of birth or race. The began in the Emergency Department and later expanded to the Inpatient setting. Automated notifications are sent to nurse for eligible patients and then to the patient navigator (PN) for positive tests. The PN contacts the patient to provide education and arrange linkage-to-care (LTC) for evaluation and care. Results From Mar 2018 to Mar 2021, we conducted 23,883 HBV screenings. The patients originated from 173 countries based on registration; top 5 countries of origin were Haiti, Jamaica, Ecuador, Guyana, and Portugal. We found 228 (1.0%) patients with HBV infection, 101 (47%) were newly diagnosed and 182 (85%) were linked to care. We examined race and insurance status for any association with those previously tested versus newly diagnosed. Blacks were more likely to be newly identified HBV versus Asians (61.6% vs. 28.9%, p< .001), as were self-pay (uninsured) versus insured patients (66.7% vs 47.2%, p=0.043). Compared to the approximately 0.4% HBV prevalence in the US, the HBV prevalence in several towns around our hospital in Essex County is two to four times higher. Table 1. The HBV Prevalence in Towns of Essex County Conclusion Our community is diverse and social determinants of health, like race and insurance status, may contribute to provider behaviors of HBV screening with blacks receiving less screening than Asians. Automated testing programs can address health disparities and scale up screening. Such micro-elimination approaches are important for achieving global hepatitis elimination by 2030. Disclosures Su Wang, MD MPH, Gilead Sciences (Grant/Research Support)Gilead Sciences (Grant/Research Support)
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