Background: Asian-Americans represent the fastest growing minority group in the United States, but are\nunder-represented patients in outpatient dermatology clinics. At the same time, skin cancer rates in individuals of\nAsian descent are increasing, but skin cancer detection appears to be delayed in Asian-Americans compared to white\nindividuals. Some health-care provider related factors for this phenomenon have been reported in the literature, but\nthe patient-related factors are unclear.\nMethods: This exploratory study to identify patient-related factors associated with dermatology visits in Asian-Americans\nwas performed after Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. An anonymous, online survey utilizing validated items was\nconducted on adults who self-identified as Asian-American in Northern California. Univariate and multivariate logistic\nregression for dermatology visits as indicated by responses to the question of ââ?¬Å?ever having had skin checked by a\ndermatologistââ?¬Â were performed on survey responses pertaining to demographic information, socioeconomic factors,\nacculturation, knowledge of melanoma warning signs and SSE belief and practice.\nResults: 89.7% of individuals who opened the online survey completed the items, with 469 surveys included in\nthe analysis. Only 60% reported ever performing a SSE, and only 48% reported ever having a skin examination by\na dermatologist. Multivariate models showed that ââ?¬Å?ever performing SSEââ?¬Â (p < 0.0001), marital status (p = 0.02), family\nhistory of skin cancer (p = 0.03) and generation in the United States (p = 0.02) were significant predictors of the primary\noutcome of ââ?¬Å?ever had skin checked by a dermatologistââ?¬Â.\nConclusions: Identification of patient-related factors that associate with dermatology clinic visits in Asian-Americans is\nimportant so that this potential gap in dermatologic care can be better addressed through future studies.
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