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Video

Care Equity, Quality, and Safety

(A111) Comparing Incidence of Otolaryngologic Concerns in San Francisco’s Chinatown: Community Health Fair versus County Hospital

Monday, October 13, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Location: OTO EXPO, Posters

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Connie J. Zhou, MD

    Resident
    University of California - San Francisco
    San Francisco, California, United States

  • Tiffany Husman, BS

    Medical Student
    University of California - San Francisco
    San Francisco, California, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Alyssa M. Civantos, MD, MS

    Resident Physician
    University of California - San Francisco
    San Francisco, CA, United States

  • Megan L. Durr, MD

    Professor
    University of California - San Francisco
    San Francisco, California, United States

  • Patrick Ha, MD

    Professor
    University of California - San Francisco
    San Francisco, California, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Mary Jue Xu, MD

    Assistant Professor
    University of California - San Francisco
    San Francisco, California, United States

Disclosure(s):
Connie J. Zhou, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Tiffany Husman, BS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Alyssa M. Civantos, MD, MS: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Megan L. Durr, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Mary Jue Xu, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.


Introduction: Are there differences between community health fair participants and patients who ultimately present for medical care? This study aimed to compare the demographics and breadth of otolaryngologic concerns from San Francisco (SF) Chinatown community screening events with that of the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) patient population from Chinatown who presented to SF's county hospital, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG), to identify gaps.

Methods: In October 2023 and 2024, we collected de-identified survey and exam data during general OHNS screenings at the annual Chinatown Community Health Fair (HF). Additionally, we created a database of all patients seen in the OHNS department at ZSFG during 2023, whose home addresses fell within the 6 census tracts within Chinatown. Sociodemographic and clinical features were captured for both groups (HF vs. ZSFG) and descriptive statistics were performed.

Results: In comparing ZSFG (N = 43) to the HF cohort (N = 150), the mean age was 60.5 (SD: 13.2) and 63.1 (SD: 15.6), respectively. Cantonese (ZSFG: 60%, HF: 73%), female gender identity (ZSFG: 71%, HF: 51%), and Asian race (ZSFG: 81%, HF: 96.7%) were the predominant demographic characteristics in both cohorts. The most common insurance was Medicare in both (ZSFG 44%, HF 35.3%). Our study revealed the differing chief OHNS concerns to be hearing loss (19%), nasal obstruction (18%), and denture problems (8.7%) at the HF versus hearing loss (49%), dizziness (14%), and otalgia (14%) at ZSFG. At the HF, 4 participants had a concerning lesion flagged for follow-up with their PCP. Meanwhile, for patients from Chinatown referred to ZSFG, 14 of 43 patients demonstrated concerning aerodigestive lesions, with nine lesions returning benign and 5 returning malignant.

Conclusions: Despite many similarities, gender identity and primary concerns revealed notable differences between the groups. These areas highlight possible gaps to address in the future either in specific patient demographics to target in the community or gaps in connecting patients in the community with certain concerns to otolaryngologic care.