Health Disparities Amongst the Asian American Community
The Asian American community experiences significant gaps in health outcomes and indicators. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hepatitis B, mental health, osteoporosis, and tobacco use are a few of the more common health issues in the Asian American community.
Cancer: The leading cause of death among Asian Americans.
Cardiovascular Disease: The second leading cause of death among Asian Americans.
Diabetes: Affects approximately 20% of Asian Americans, and an estimated 32% of Asian Americans have pre-diabetes (1).
Hepatitis B: Despite making just 5% of the country's total population, Asian Americans contribute to more than half of the country's chronic Hepatitis B cases. According to estimates, 1 in 12 Asian Americans have hepatitis B (2).
Mental Health: Among women ages 15-24, Asian Americans have the highest
suicide mortality rates across all racial and ethnic groups (3).
Osteoporosis: Due to a number of risk factors, including reduced body weight, inadequate calcium intake, and lactose intolerance, to name a few, Asian American women are more likely to develop osteoporosis (4).
Tobacco Use: Relatively 1 in 11 Asian American adults smoke cigarettes. An estimated 1 in 7 Asian American men smoke cigarettes (5).
Asian Americans experience many health disparities, and people must be educated on this matter, as many are unaware of their health risks. Many Asian Americans are at high risk of these diseases due to their culture, genetics, and healthcare inequalities. When speaking with a fellow Asian American, Daniel, he expressed concern that his parents are at such high risk of many diseases. He shared with me that cancer is common in his family and wants to spread awareness to others that cancer is way more common in Asian American communities than many believe. Stomach and liver cancer are the most common types among Asian Americans.
Moreover, Stephanie and Jessica, two more fellow Asian Americans, expressed their gratitude for joining this project. Along with Daniel, both were concerned they were not educated enough about their health. They were even more worried about future generations not knowing to care for their health throughout their lifetime. Educating the youth through older people of the Asian American community on their health is heavily critical because if fellow members of the Asian American community will not, no one will.
Asian Americans who are uneducated about their health are at a higher risk of obtaining a disease and are also at risk of having a provider that does not understand their health. The Asian American community, similar to other minority communities, has a high risk of healthcare inequalities. Healthcare inequalities include discrimination, racism, language barriers, and cultural differences.
Daniel, Stephanie, Jessica, and I, all shared similar experiences with our health. We are all pre-diabetic and were not aware of our high risk for diabetes until the age of 16 years and older. We all felt we were told very late and could not practice healthy habits in our youth to prevent such measures. Diabetes is obtainable through genetics and environmental factors, and the Asian American youth needs to be aware of this risk to implement healthy habits into their lifestyle. It is never too late to start healthy habits. The older generations in the Asian American community should know they can decrease their chances of obtaining diseases through healthy lifestyle changes.
Why does this social issue matter to me?
Educating the Asian American community on their health disparities is important to me because I struggled for years to understand my health, and I know many others are undergoing the same journey. Many Asian Americans are not educated on their health disparities due to the lack of resources in their community. Healthcare inequalities that Asian Americans experience are caused by racism and discrimination, language barriers, and lack of experience in healthcare settings. Resources such as language classes, social worker representatives, brochures in different languages, and healthcare providers that are educated on the health disparities of the Asian American community should be accessible to them.
What are some solutions to this social issue?
- Talk openly about health risks with your family and friends.
- In Asian American culture, health problems are shameful; however, by talking openly about them with family and friends, it will help build a sense of community for those that are in need of a support system.
- Spread awareness about community healthcare programs that offer online forums that provide information on health risks and the preventive measures that can be done.
- Many are fearful of going to healthcare environments due to their lack of experience and knowledge. Online forums about common health issues people in the Asian American community experience will help others in understanding how to communicate their health to providers.
Members of the Asian American Community
*all members involved want respect for their privacy*
Daniel, 21 years, Korean
Occupation: Full-time student
Stephanie, 22 years, Hmong and Chinese
Occupation: Full-time student
Jessica, 21 years, Filipino and Lao
Occupation: Full-time student
Sources:
1. Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School
Affiliate, “One in Two Asian Americans Develop Diabetes or Pre-diabetes in
Their Lifetime”: https://aadi.joslin.org/en/diabetes-mellitus-in-asian-americans
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Chronic Hepatitis B:
https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/populations/api.htm
3. Xing, Jun, and Chloe Chunyan
Cheng. Beyond the Model Minority: Asian American Communities and Social
Justice Education. Cognella, Inc., 2019.
4. National Institute of
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, “Osteoporosis and Asian
American Women”: https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/osteoporosis/background/asian-american-women
5. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, “Tips From Former Smokers: Asian Americans”: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/groups/asian-american.html
