Social media use and the relationship with colorectal cancer screening among foreign-born populations in the United States.

Abstract

Background: Social media (SM) has emerged as a tool for health-related usage among US adults, including cancer screening promotion. Here, we aimed to assess the differences in health-related SM use between US and foreign-born adults and the relationship between health-related SM use and colorectal (CRC) screening practices.

Methods: Using data from the fifth edition of the National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5), cycle 2, we compared the differences in health-related SM use between US and foreign-born adults and the effects of SM use on CRC screening by country of birth. We included adults aged 50-75 and excluded participants with a history of CRC. The primary endpoint was CRC screening, which was determined by self-reported CRC screening using colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or stool occult blood testing.

Results: Our study included 1,812 adults, of whom 236 (13.0%) were foreign-born. Most participants (72.1%) reported undergoing CRC screening. Interestingly, we found no discernible difference in health-related SM use [odds ratio [OR] 0.91; 95% CI (0.49, 1.69)] between US and foreign-born adults. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that SM use did not influence CRC screening practices among either group (US-born: 0.88 [95% CI: 0.50, 1.52], foreign-born 0.52 [0.10, 2.51]).

Conclusion: Contrary to previous studies, which showed a positive relationship between SM use and satisfactory health-related practices, we found that although foreign-born adults use SM as much as US-born adults, there was no significant relationship between SM use and CRC screening.