Improving Asian American lung cancer screening awareness through virtual physician-led community outreach: quality...

Despite a significant lung cancer burden, Asian American populations have persistently low lung cancer screening (LCS) rates in the United States. This quality improvement initiative evaluated the impact of virtual, physician-led community education sessions to inform LCS outreach efforts in the Asian American community, using knowledge and perceptions as formative metrics.

Three physician-led virtual outreach sessions were conducted in 2023-2024 in Northern California, centered on LCS in the Asian American community. Multidisciplinary Asian American lung cancer physicians reviewed the 2021 United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) LCS eligibility criteria, benefits, and misconceptions. Anonymous pre- and post-event surveys assessed participant knowledge. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact tests, Chi-squared tests, and thematic qualitative analysis.

A total of 267 responses were collected (25 pre-event, 242 post-event). Among post-event surveys from 2024 (n=94), most participants were Kaiser Permanente members (93%) and non-smokers (96%), with nearly half reporting a family history of lung cancer (45%). Before the session, 28% reported general knowledge of LCS and 52% knew screening was available. Only 20% reported knowledge of eligibility criteria in pre-event surveys compared with 42% in post-event surveys, an exploratory, descriptive comparison given the unpaired survey design. Despite this shift, 58% of participants remained uncertain about eligibility.

Virtual, physician-led outreach supported quality improvement efforts to enhance LCS awareness among Asian Americans in Northern California. Persistent knowledge gaps about USPSTF criteria highlight the need for continued, targeted education and iterative engagement strategies.