Main description:

This ground-breaking textbook examines Asian American health from a public health perspective. It provides an overview of the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that influence the distribution of disease and illness in Asian American communities. The book explores the diversity within the Asian community with respect to health seeking behavior and knowledge, socioeconomic status, educational level, cultural traditions, and specific health care needs and issues. By examining the contextual factors that impact health, the book seeks to facilitate a meaningful dialogue and identify creative solutions for health disparities faced by racial and ethnic minority communities.

Contents:

Figures and Tables. Foreword (Albert K. Yee). The Editors. The Contributors. Acknowledgments. PART ONE: SETTING THE CONTEXT: ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN THE UNITED STATES. 1. Toward a Contextual Understanding of Asian American Health (Nadia Shilpi Islam, Chau Trinh-Shevrin, and Mariano Jose Rey). 2. Social, Cultural, and Demographic Characteristics of Asian Americans (Winston Tseng). 3. Social, Demographic, and Cultural Characteristics of Pacific Islanders (Sela V. Panapasa). 4. Asian American Health Research: Baseline Data and Funding (Chandak Ghosh). PART TWO: PERSPECTIVES: HEALTH ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS. 5. The Health of Children and Adolescents (Stella M. Yu, and Amita N. Vyas). 6. The Health of Women (Sora Park-Tanjasiri, and Tu-Uyen Nguyen). 7. The Health of Men (John H. Choe). 8. The Health of the Elderly (Tazuko Shibusawa, and Irene Chung). 9. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning People Communities (Sel J. Hwahng, and Alison J. Lin). PART THREE: FROM THE INDIVIDUAL TO THE INSTITUTIONAL: CRITICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING HEALTH DISPARITIES. 10. Complementary and Alternative Medicines (Darshan Mehta, and Ellen McCarthy). 11. Language Access (Marguerite Ro, Jinny Jihyun Park, and Deeana Jang). 12. Health Insurance (Ninez Ponce). 13. Racism and Discrimination (Gilbert C. Gee, and Annie Ro). 14. Occupational and Environmental Health (Pam Tau Lee). PART FOUR: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR ACTION: COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH. 15. Health Interventions (Grace X. Ma, and Gem P. Daus). 16. Community-Based Participatory Research (S. Darius Tandon, and Simona C. Kwon). 17. Promoting Community-Based Participatory Research at the Institutional Level (Chau Trinh-Shevrin, Nadia Islam, and Mariano Jose Rey). 18. Evaluation (Traci Endo Inouye). PART FIVE: COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING HEALTH. 19. The Workforce (Marguerite Ro). 20. Community Health Centers (Thomas Tsang, Kevin C. Lo, and Jeffrey Caballero). 21. Health Policy Advocacy (Deeana Jang, and Ho Luong Tran). PART SIX: EMERGING HEALTH ISSUES AND RESEARCH PRIORITIES. 22. Disability (Peter J. Wong, and Lois M. Takahashi). 23. Oral Health (Kavita P. Ahluwalia). 24. Gambling Addiction (Timothy W. Fong). 25. Genetic Testing and Profiling (Joon-Ho Yu). Afterword: The Reciprocity of Time. David T. Takeuchi, Margie Kagawa Singer. Index.