Reluctance to screening colonoscopy in Arab Americans: a community based observational study

To explore compliance of Arab-Americans to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and identify the barriers for non-compliance. An observational community based study. Arab-American Friday prayer attendees' ≥50 years in three mosques in Dearborn, MI volunteered. Demographics, health insurance status, screening history, availability of a primary care physician (PCP) and the ability to communicate in Arabic were inquired. The responses were compared using a student t test between respondents who have had CRC screening with colonoscopy and those who have not had any screening tests. A p value of 0.05 or lower was considered statistically significant. Total number surveyed was 130. Average age is 64 years. Males were 76 % (99) and females 24 % (31). More than 50 % were Lebanese and 28 % were from Yemen. Majority had health insurance (89 %), and 86 % had a primary care physician of which 79 % of them spoke Arabic. Half of the participants had colonoscopy mostly for screening purposes. Fifty-eight (45 %) participants did not have CRC screening. Majority of the females (72.4 %) had colonoscopy compared to 46.8 % of the males (p value = 0.016). The mean length of stay in the U.S was 39.16 years in the colonoscopy group compared to 30.77 years in the non-screening group (p value = 0.006). Participants without a PCP did not have CRC screening (77.8 %) (p value = 0.005). Participants with a non-Arabic speaking PCP had more colonoscopy rates (77.3 %) compared to those with an Arabic speaking PCP (50 %) (p value = 0.027). More Lebanese had colonoscopy (71.9 %) compared to 25.7 % of the surveyed Yemenis (p value = 0.00). Discomfort, unawareness about CRC screening, and nonrecommendation by PCP were reported barriers. Arab-Americans have lower screening colonoscopy rates. Unfamiliarity of the importance of screening is a principal issue. Having a non-arabic speaking PCP is beneficial. Better education to this population about the benefits and ease of screening could increase adherence to screening for this population.