Huge Health Disparities Among Asian-Americans
Posted on: Saturday, 20 March 2010, 11:05 CDT
Critical avenues to prevent cancer overlooked; immigrant women at high risk of death from breast cancer
WASHINGTON, DC -- Although Asian Americans have long been portrayed as a "model minority" with few major problems, data released online today in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) reveal that distinct groups of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPI) differ widely in death and disease rates, including from breast cancer and other conditions such as heart disease, and stand to benefit strongly from culturally appropriate care.
In the first issue of a major health journal devoted to AA and NHPI populations, data show striking disparities. For instance, Asian-born women in the United States suffer death rates from breast cancer up to four times as high as U.S.-born Asian Americans. Other studies show that culturally appropriate care would dramatically lower rates of lung, colorectal, cervical and liver cancers among distinct populations. The special issue was supported by Health Through Action, a partnership between APIAHF and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
"Information, not ignorance, must shape the health care agenda for our populations," said Kathy Lim Ko, President and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF). "Aggregated data across ethnic groups masks serious health problems. Cancer often goes unrecognized and undertreated. We must move beyond generalities to address the real health needs in diverse communities," she said.
The problem has taken a serious toll on groups such as Native Hawaiians. As author Stephen Stafford at the Montefiore Medical