On February 23, 2016, NIMHD and the NIH Asian and Pacific Islander American Organization (APAO) Research in Diverse Asian American Populations

On February 23, 2016, NIMHD and the NIH Asian and Pacific Islander American Organization (APAO) co-sponsored a lecture, Health Disparity Research in Diverse Asian American Populations: Present and Future, by Dr. Grace Ma, Associate Dean for Health Disparities, Founding Director, Center for Asian Health (CAH), Laura H. Carnell Professor of Public Health, and Professor in Clinical Sciences at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

In her presentation, Ma, an NIMHD grantee, discussed the driving force for Asian health disparity research, health disparities confronting Asian Americans, discoveries from research conducted at CAH, and research opportunities for reducing health disparities among Asian Americans and other underrepresented populations.

Asian Americans are comprised of very diverse ethnic groups and face substantial challenges, according to Ma. For example, more than 70 percent of Asian Americans are foreign-born, and thus many have limited English proficiency. Other challenges include differing cultural beliefs and behaviors and unfamiliarity with the Western health system. In addition, Asian Americans have the most difficulty understanding instructions in a doctor’s office, are the least satisfied with cancer care coordination, and experience unique health disparities from other ethnic populations.

“There is more recognition of these issues that is documented in the literature, even though this population is very much understudied,” said Ma.

Asian Americans face health disparities in cancer, chronic diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes, mental health, and among the elderly. It is the only U.S. population suffering cancer as the leading cause of death. In particular, Asian Americans have the highest incidence and mortality rates of liver and stomach cancers–the most preventable cancers–largely due to high prevalence of related infections such as hepatitis B. In addition, Asian Americans have the lowest cancer screening rates and are typically diagnosed at a later stage compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/features/training-workforce-dev/center-asian-health.html