“Let’s Chat”: process evaluation of an intergenerational group chat intervention to increase cancer prevention screening among Vietnamese American families

Abstract

Vietnamese Americans have a higher rate of cervical and colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to other ethnicities. Increasing CRC screening, Pap testing, and HPV vaccination is critical to preventing disproportionate cancer burden among Vietnamese families. To describe the successes and challenges of implementing a novel intergenerational family group chat intervention that encourages CRC screening, Pap testing, and HPV vaccination. Young adult Family Health Advocates (FHAs) were trained to facilitate online family group chat conversations to encourage cancer screenings. Ten families participated in a 4-week intervention. Data collection included screenshot data of family group chat conversations, family member surveys, and post-intervention FHA interviews. Intervention implementation successes included (a) cultural and language brokering, (b) active co-facilitation by family members to follow up on cancer screenings, (c) high levels of family group chat engagement, (d) high acceptability of intervention among families, and (e) accessibility of intervention curriculum. FHA challenges to implement the intervention included (a) sustaining cancer prevention conversations, (b) comfort with navigating family conversations around cancer screening, (c) relevance for all family members, and (d) missed opportunities for correcting misinformation. Researcher challenges included family recruitment and retention. The intervention made cancer-screening messages more accessible and was well accepted by Vietnamese families. Scaling up the intervention will require (a) training FHAs to monitor family conversations and build confidence in sharing medical accurate messages, (b) segmenting group chats by age and gender, and (c) employing multiple family engagement strategies.

Health Information Source Characteristics Matter: Adapting the Dissemination of an HPV Vaccine Intervention to Reach Latina and Vietnamese Women

“…Social media channels including YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram represent sources that are accessed and checked daily, especially by young adults. An emergence of digital interpersonal networks to coordinate daily life is normative in this age group and could be used to share health prevention messages (e.g., WhatsApp or Facebook messenger group chats; Duong & Hopfer, 2021 ).…”

U.S. Vietnamese parents’ HPV vaccine decision-making for their adolescents: an exploration of practice-, provider-, and patient-level influences

“…HPV vaccination is a safe and effective method to prevent HPV-related cancers, including cervical cancer. To date, limited research has focused on HPV vaccination among U.S. Vietnamese (Duong & Hopfer, 2020 ; Gor et al, 2011 ; Hopfer et al, 2017 ; Nguyen-Truong et al, 2017 ; Yi et al, 2013a , 2013b ). Findings indicate that U.S. Vietnamese generally have low awareness or knowledge of the vaccine and low HPV vaccine uptake (Duong & Hopfer, 2020 ; Gor et al, 2011 ; Hopfer et al, 2017 ; Nguyen-Truong et al, 2017 ; Yi et al, 2013a , 2013b ).…”

“…To date, limited research has focused on HPV vaccination among U.S. Vietnamese (Duong & Hopfer, 2020 ; Gor et al, 2011 ; Hopfer et al, 2017 ; Nguyen-Truong et al, 2017 ; Yi et al, 2013a , 2013b ). Findings indicate that U.S. Vietnamese generally have low awareness or knowledge of the vaccine and low HPV vaccine uptake (Duong & Hopfer, 2020 ; Gor et al, 2011 ; Hopfer et al, 2017 ; Nguyen-Truong et al, 2017 ; Yi et al, 2013a , 2013b ). For example, among 113 Vietnamese women in Houston-based survey, only 14% reported vaccine initiation ( Yi et al, 2013a ).…”

“…This existing literature regarding HPV vaccination among U.S. Vietnamese has two major limitations. First, existing research has primarily focused on U.S. Vietnamese young adult females (Duong & Hopfer, 2020 ; Gor et al, 2011 ; Hopfer et al, 2017 ; Nguyen-Truong et al, 2017 ; Yi et al, 2013a ). Research including U.S. Vietnamese adolescents is limited to only one study assessing mothers’ intention to get the HPV vaccine for their daughters (ages 9–26) ( Yi et al, 2013b ) and no publications have focused on adolescent boys or men.…”

“…Second, limited research has leveraged a comprehensive health services framework to examine factors at different health system levels influencing HPV vaccine uptake among U.S. Vietnamese. Rather, existing research has concentrated on individual-level factors (e.g., language, vaccine knowledge) (Duong & Hopfer, 2020 ; Gor et al, 2011 ; Hopfer et al, 2017 ; Nguyen-Truong et al, 2017 ; Yi et al, 2013a , 2013b ) or only looked at a single healthcare system factor—provider recommendation. Research exploring a wide range of factors related to the healthcare environment in which caregivers or patients make decision is needed, particularly because healthcare system-based interventions effectively improve HPV vaccine coverage (Niccolai & Hansen, 2015 ; Smulian et al, 2016 ).…”