Health status of Asian Americans

According to statistics, Asian Americans are a minority group that has less health concerns than other groups.

They do, however, have a lower health status than the national average in the United States. In the United States, 7.5% of Asian Americans have fair or poor health, compared to around 6.5% of the national average (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).

Every year, over 60,000 Asian Americans die as a result of cancer, heart disease, or stroke. An estimated 25.7% of Asian Americans have hypertension, 12% are obese, and around 9% smoke. The infant death rate is about 3.86% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). However, the average life expectancy for Asian Americans is 85 years while 77 years is the national life expectancy age in the United States (Acciai, Noah, & Firebaugh, 2015).

Health Promotion by Asian Americans

The United States had a goal to ensure better health for all minority groups by the end of the present decade known as ’Healthy People 2010. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011)’ The program identified that infant mortality, diabetes, immunizations, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and HIV/AIDS were some of the conditions that had a very high impact on the health of minority groups in the United States. The most significant area for the Asian Americans was the lack of immunizations which led to a high prevalence of liver disease and hepatitis B infections (Tuttle, 2010). Thus, if the Asian Americans could receive more vaccines, their health status is likely to improve significantly and hence raise their standards of living and life expectancy levels.

Health Disparities for Asian Americans

Hepatitis B is one of the most prevalent conditions among Asian Americans. A study was conducted between 2010 and 2015 which allowed for screening for about three thousand Asian Americans. The study reported that 9% of the screened Asian Americans were chronically infected yet 60% of all those who were infected were unaware. The study also indicated that men were more likely to be affected when compared to the women and that Asian Americans born in the United States were less likely to get the condition when compared to the foreigners. Hepatitis B is the leading cause of liver complications among Asian Americans who are eleven more times to get liver cancer when compared to White Americans.

Cancer is also another menace facing Asian Americans. They exhibit very high rates of cancer of the cervix, stomach, and liver. Individuals between 25-44 years and 45-64 years also have the highest rates of cancer (Lee, Lundquist, Ju, Luo, & Townsend, 2011). Asian Americans have a higher prevalence of the cancer types that are of infectious origins such as liver cancer caused by hepatitis B, cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus and stomach cancer due to Helicobacter pylori (Lee, Lundquist, Ju, Luo, & Townsend, 2011). Moreover, when Asian Americans migrate into the US, they adopt different lifestyles such as smoking, unhealthy eating habits and infrequent exercising that place them at a higher risk of getting cancer (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016). Cardiovascular diseases are also a leading killer amongst Asian Americans. Although the prevalence is lower when compared to other minority groups, it can still be reduced. An approximate 27% of Asian Americans die annually due to coronary heart diseases (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016).

Barriers to Health for Asian Americans

Asian Americans have cultural barriers that lead them to perceive illnesses and treated differently from the people living in the United States (Luxford, Safran, & Delbanco, 2011). The causes of diseases are sometimes viewed as a curse, an evil omen or genetic problem. As such, Asian Americans are led to think that the health condition should not be dealt with which leads to an increased prevalence of the condition. Asian Americans are a minority group who are highly likely to experience discrimination, attitude problems, a high cost of accessing services that are of low quality (Luxford, Safran, & Delbanco, 2011). As such, they are likely to experience socioeconomic problems that make them less likely to access health services. Thus, this contributes to a lowered health status for Asian Americans.

Statistics indicate that Asian Americans are among the best educated and highest income earners among the minority groups in the US (Pew Research Center, 2012). Approximately, more than half of the Asian Americans have a bachelor’s degree. As such, they are more likely to get well-paying jobs which lead to a rise in their standards of living. Therefore, other than cultural barriers, Asian Americans are more likely to afford quality health care which leads to an increase in their life expectancy years.

Health Promotion Levels

Primary prevention is the best action plan to ensure health improvement for Asian Americans (Tuttle, 2010). Primary prevention will focus on eliminating and reducing factors such as smoking and failure to get immunization programs. The prevention plan will ensure that Asian Americans understand the importance of healthy eating, physical activity, and immunization programs. As such, the health status of this minority group will increase and consequently reduce the prevalence of different conditions.

References

Acciai, F., Noah, A., & Firebaugh, G. (2015). Pinpointing the Sources of the Asian Mortality Advantage in the United States. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1006-1011.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, November 8). Healthy People 2010. Retrieved from cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/healthy_people/hp2010.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, May 3). National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/asian-health.htm

Lee, H., Lundquist, M., Ju, E., Luo, X., & Townsend, A. (2011). Colorectal Cancer Screening Disparities in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Which Groups are Most Vulnerable? Ethnicity and Health, 501-518.

Luxford, K., Safran, D., & Delbanco, T. (2011). Promoting Patient-Centered Care: A Qualitative Study of Facilitators and Barriers in Healthcare Organizations with a Reputation for Improving the Patient Experience. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 510-515.

Pew Research Center. (2012). The Rise of Asian Americans. Retrieved from www.pewsocialtrends.org: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/asianamericans-graphics/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2016, February 18). Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations. Retrieved from www.samhsa.gov: https://www.samhsa.gov/specific-populations/racial-ethnic-minority

Tuttle, F. (2010). Health Promotion in Asian Americans. Journal of Practising Nurse, 2-4.