A0375
Title: Harnessing sociocultural similarities between diverse populations to identify determinants of cancer screening use
Authors: Shromona Sarkar - Rutgers Cancer Institute (United States)
Jaya Satagopan - Rutgers School of Public Health (United States) [presenting]
Abstract: Screening is effective in detecting cancer early when it is easier to treat and the chances of survival are better. However, there is considerable racial disparity in the use of cancer screening. Standard approaches to identify factors associated with these disparities begin by stratifying the data on race and then fitting regression models. However, strata based on discrete labelling of race, such as non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and so on, are likely to be oversimplified when attempting to interpret screening use in diverse populations. Further, the sample sizes of under-studied populations such as non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Asian subgroups are often small, which diminishes the power to detect factors that determine screening use in some, but not necessarily all, strata. To address these challenges, a latent class approach is developed and implemented to stratify individuals according to their socio-cultural similarities, regardless of their race/ethnicity. The properties of the approach are illustrated, and its benefits are demonstrated by conducting comparisons with standard methods using multiple years of data from the National Health Interview Survey to examine disparities in mammogram screening use in diverse populations.
