“According to the US Census Bureau, on the 2010 Census, the Asian population category includes people who indicated their race(s) as “Asian” or reported entries such as “Asian Indian,” “Chinese,” “Filipino,” “Korean,” “Japanese,” and “Vietnamese” or provided other detailed Asian responses” (CDC, 2013). “In 2012, the following states had the largest Asian- American populations: California, New York, Hawaii, Texas, New Jersey and Illinois” (OMH, 2014). Group Defined Health Promotions Most Asian Americans agree that a multitude of factors including poor diet, lack of physical activity, and stress increase risk of disease.
Asian American communities are accustomed to seeking treatment only when very ill. Most of this lack of treatment can be attributed to lack of awareness this particular population possesses in preventative measures. Some have expressed a knowledge deficit related to preventive care and screenings. It has been said that once this group is educated, preventative steps would likely be taken towards health promotion. Current Health Status Compared to the national average, Asian Americans are living with a longer life expectancy than other minority groups.
They are also, however, living with a few higher health disparities such as hepatitis B and cancer. These will be discussed later in this paper. Health status is often linked to socio economic backgrounds and educational background. Typically speaking, the lower your education, the lower your social class. This in turn leads to poorer health care. The higher educational background you have, the better job you have, the better health insurance you can afford. Asian Americans are often linked to higher education, but this is not always the case. While many are linked to a higher education, just like so many other 3 Healthcare for the Asian American.
Americans, many Asian Americans also lack a basic education and health insurance. This prohibits health promotion and various forms. Current Existing Health Disparities “Health disparities refer to differences between groups of people. These differences can affect how frequently a disease affects a group, how many people get sick, or how often the disease causes death” (NIH, 2015). In the Asian American population four different, common disparities are linked to this particular group. Cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and cancer are the illness that will be discussed here.
There are more, but these four mark the top of the list. Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular disease is a wide spread disease with several interventions that make it preventable. It involves the heart and/or blood vessels and includes several different diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation and endocarditis to name a few. With proper diet and exercise modification, most risk factors of cardiovascular disease are modifiable. Asian Americans have a high incidence due to their diet and many lack the knowledge of what contributes to heart disease until something has happened.
It is only then that they are educated on the disease process. TB Tuberculosis is an airborne disease caused by bacteria spread from one person to another through coughing, sneezing, or speaking and is highly contagious. It usually affects the lungs, but may also spread and affect other body systems like the spine, kidneys, or brain. Asian Americans have a higher incidence of tuberculosis in their cultural group. It has been linked to communities of overcrowding, higher poverty levels, and communities with poor resources. 4 Healthcare for the Asian American.
Asian countries rank high among these and often test positive if they are tested for tuberculosis. Foreign born Asian Americans have the highest incidence rate. While tuberculosis is treatable, if left untreated it can most certainly lead to death. Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is a virus that affects the liver. It can have an acute stage or lead to a chronic stage. Cirrhosis and liver cancer are an end result to this virus. Asian Americans have a high prevalence of this virus due whether their families are from Asia or the Pacific Islands. These places have a high incidence of Hepatitis B and little or no vaccination available to them.
Many Asian Americans have this disease and are unaware of it. Symptoms are sometimes vague and do not prompt them to get tested. This in turn leads to further spreading of the disease throughout their community. Without treatment, higher incidence of liver failure and liver cancer with increasing morbidity occurs. Cancer Asian Americans are less likely to get routine screenings which puts them at a higher risk for multiple cancers. Infrequent pap smears lead to undiagnosed cervical cancer. Mammograms are often missed as well as colorectal screening tests.
Appointments for endoscopies or other important routine tests are often overlooked or not considered a priority. Due to a lack of timely screenings many cancers are found a later and stage and have a higher mortality rate. Earlier testing and detection can help prevent and treat many of these. Health Promotion Prevention Primary care is where health promotion prevention appears to have the most beneficial use in this population.
By providing current and accurate educational health information as well as opportunities for routine screenings, we can establish health promotion within the Asian 5 Healthcare for the Asian American American community. It is critical to implement these screenings along with available resources in order to raise awareness and improve these families’ overall health statuses. Pamphlets or flyers written in the communities’ native tongue or small local health fairs are all a great way to start the education process and screenings for disease prevention.
These little initiatives raise awareness of health problems that may have previously gone unnoticed. Starting at the beginning is the best option for Asian Americans. They are more likely to seek treatment as soon as they know they there is a problem.
The problem is many don’t know to get their routine screenings done. When they finally do, it’s usually too late. 6 Healthcare for the Asian American.
References CDC (Center for Disease Control). (2013). Minority Health: Asian American Populations. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/asian. html NIH (National Institute of Health). (2015). MedlinePlus: Health Disparities. Retrieved from http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/healthdisparities. html OMH (Office of Minority Health). (2014). Profile: Asian Americans. Retrieved from http://minorityhealth. hhs. gov/omh/browse. aspx? lvl=3&lvlid=63.