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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just released data regarding the utilization of cancer screening tests (i.e., mammography, Pap smear and colonoscopy) by race/ethnicity. Here’s a direct quote from the report: “Screening rates for all three cancer screening tests were significantly lower among Asians than among whites and blacks.”
As an example, the rate of mammography within the past two years for Asian survey respondents was 64.1%. This compares to 72.8% among whites and 73.2% among blacks. Similarly, Asians received up-to-date colorectal cancer screening at a rate of 46.9%, as compared to 59.8% among whites and 55.0% among blacks. Data is also presented by Asian ethnic subgroups, including Chinese and Filipinos.
Early cancer detection greatly increases the chances of successful treatment. Clearly, Asian American health organizations and their partners must work to address this disparity in cancer screening rates. I would urge you to review this report. Click here for a link to the report.
-Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
We were recently asked to join other Asian American community members in a press conference demanding the resignation of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. One may wonder why an agency with a mission towards health improvement would want to go out on a limb against a county sheriff. I’m providing the text of my comments as an explanation:My name is Doug Hirano. I am the executive director of the Asian Pacific Community in Action. We’re a non-profit agency that works on behalf of the rapidly growing Asian American and Pacific Islander community to ensure that they have equal access to the health services and information that can help them achieve good health. Since 2002, we’ve helped thousands of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders get immunized, get screened for life-threatening diseases, and find a regular source of medical care. All of our programs are tailored to serve first generation immigrants and refugees facing real challenges of poverty, language, education and unemployment. In our 10 years of service, our work has taught us the power of grassroots advocacy, and so we also work to promote policies and practices that are fair to the needs of all Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals -- regardless of country of origin or citizenship status.It has become clear that the policies and practices of the Sheriff’s Office are a problem for communities of color, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, many of whom are recent immigrants and refugees. Many of our service recipients come to the United States seeking a just and fair society. Unfortunately, the discrimination, racial profiling and unconstitutional retaliatory actions taken by the Sheriff’s Office are reminiscent of the policies and actions for which they originally left their home countries. We are concerned that our community members are not seeking the government services they need and are entitled to because of the hostile and fear inducing atmosphere created by the Sheriff’s Office. Data indicate that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are over-represented among the very poor, but do not utilize government-funded services such as behavioral health care, cancer screening and nutrition services proportionate to their population size. For an agency charged with improving the health and well being of our communities, this is unacceptable.We believe that government services and policies are meant to level the playing field for all. We believe that law enforcement must protect everyone’s safety and rights equally. We believe in equal access to justice. Under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, none of these beliefs can be realized. Change is demanded. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” We therefore request that Sheriff Joe Arpaio resign from office immediately. Thank you. - Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
2012 is indeed a very exciting year for us. We received a grant from Healthy People 2020 to conduct nutrition education intervention/workshops in the Bhutanese community. Bhutanese are nationals of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas. India borders the south, east, and west areas of Bhutan and China borders the north. Nepal and Bangladesh are also not too far from Bhutan.
The ancient traditions of Bhutan have been fiercely guarded as a result of having been almost completely cut off for centuries from the outside world. Bhutan, also known as “Land of the Thunder Dragon,” began to open up to the outsiders in the 1970s. Although ancient cultures and the breathtaking sceneries make Bhutan irresistible, tourism is restricted.
There might be restrictions in traveling to Bhutan, but there sure are no restrictions in learning from our Bhutanese friends who are among the newest members of our community in the United States. This project is a result our commitment in learning and growing together. Bhutanese community leaders identified the need for nutrition education among their people.
“Elders believe that they should drink water only when they sweat.”
“Regardless of whether or not they are in pain, some religiously take pain killers three times a day just like the medicines prescribed by their English-speaking doctors, whom they do not understand.”
“They suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, stress, depression and yet eat fatty food cooked in corn oil which is cheap and comes by the gallon.”
“What do doctors really mean by exercising?”
We not only actively listened to the community but did our part in researching the facts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a severe case of Vitamin B12 deficiency among the Bhutanese, which results in numerous hematologic and neurologic disorders. A nutrition education/intervention is crucial.
We are in the process of developing a culturally appropriate and linguistically competent nutrition education curriculum specifically designed for the Bhutanese. In partnership with Bhutanese Community Association of Arizona, input from experienced Bhutanese medical assistants and staff members from Mountain Park Health Center, we are striving to build a curriculum that will reflect the input from the community leaders, members, and Bhutanese women who do almost all the cooking. The curriculum will be delivered by trained lay health workers fluent in English and Nepali. The curriculum will also be translated in Nepali, which is the language spoken by the Bhutanese resettled in the United States.
For further information, please contact Ms. Kamana Khadka at (602) 265-4598.
- Kamana Khadka, Program Manager, Bridging Cultures
While many of us have very recently made resolutions around our eating and exercise habits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is asking the public to adopt at least one additional New Year’s resolution: Be ready. To make this easy, they’ve initiated a “31 days of preparedness” blog offering a tip a day to improve readiness for any type of disaster or emergency.
The first three days’ of readiness tips have included some simple but sensible suggestions for preparing your “second home” – in other words, your automobile – for emergencies. Check back with the CDC blog for additional daily tips. I suspect you’ll be more knowledgeable and better prepared for the unexpected.
- Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
The Asian Pacific Community in Action, in association with Health Through Action Arizona and the ASU Asian Pacific American Studies program, is happy to announce the publication of the second volume of “The State of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders in Arizona.” Because this volume is focused on health, the publication is subtitled “Health Risks, Disparities and Community Responses.”
This document builds upon the original “State of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Arizona” by providing a detailed look at the state of health among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in Arizona. Essay topics include but are not limited to cancer, infectious diseases, mental health, domestic violence, women and children’s health, immigration, reproductive issues and emergency preparedness.
The essays were authored by a wide variety of talented individuals, including representatives of the Asian Pacific Community in Action, ASU, the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the University of Arizona, and the Arizona Family Planning Council, among others. This collective voice offers new information about the health of AAPIs in Arizona within the state’s distinctive sociopolitical environment. Importantly, community assets and resources are identified, and recommendations for enhancing the health and prosperity of AAPIs are offered.
I am proud to be associated with this publication. It goes beyond my original concept of a “data book” on AAPI health status and tells a far larger story on a much broader canvas. Special thanks goes to Dr. Kathy Nakagawa for her willingness to focus this particular volume on health, for inviting APCA to be a substantial partner in its development, and for her hard work relating to the document’s design and editing. Ms. Zeenat Hasan, Health Through Action Arizona Director, worked equally hard in coordinating the many moving parts involved in this effort and deserves significant recognition for her efforts.
We thank APS and the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum for their generous support of this project, and we offer special thanks to the AAPI community members willing to serve as photo models and to Mr. Nick Oza for his stunning photography.
Most importantly, read the document! Myself, I learned a lot in reading it cover to cover. An electronic copy is available on the Publication page of the APCA website, and hard copies are available through APCA by contacting Ms. Kamana Khadka at kamana@apcaaz.org or (602) 265-4598. By the way, the first volume of the “State of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Arizona” document is still available on the APAS website.
- Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
Congratulations to Corey Hour, the winner of our 2011 Video Challenge! Corey is a local 21-year-old Cambodian American student who has developed skills in photography and videography. In his video, "Growing Up: Asian American," he describes his life changing trip to Cambodia and his desire to have an impact on his community. He states that through his work, “I’m hoping to leave a lasting impression to influence and motivate this generation to help one another and find their voice.” Check out his video on the APCA website.
This past week I had the pleasure of attending the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Washington DC. Anyone working in the field of public or community health should try to attend this meeting at least once in his or her life. Admittedly, it is not cheap. The registration fee is generally north of $400, and rooms in the downtown DC area run more than $200 a night. However, if you can afford it, it’s worth the money.
This year’s meeting, titled “Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies," drew over 13,000 registrants and featured hundreds of sessions on a wide variety of topics. I happened to attend some very interesting sessions on hepatitis B programs, innovative research methods, social justice/health equity, and the CDC initiative “Communities Putting Prevention to Work." I also had a chance to spend some time with my new colleagues in the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus (APIC).
While I enjoyed a number of the many speakers, I wanted to provide a shout out to Dr. David Chavis of Community Science in Maryland. He entered the session late, having just returned from South America and still suffering from a bout of intestinal distress. In his presentation, entitled “Paradox of Public Health and Social Justice: Being a Professional in the Social Change Process,” he noted that factors such as poverty, discrimination, poor education, lack of political voice, and other social justice issues are strongly associated with poor health, and that public health as a science has recognized the need to integrate social change work with classic health improvement models. However, he cites two challenges in successfully integrating these two approaches.
First, public health professionals generally work in risk adverse institutions such as government, foundations, academia, and funder dependent non-profits. There are few rewards, and frequent resistance to actual social change. Conflict, a critical component of change, is denied as an option.
Second, unlike many other social movements, the need for scientific knowledge is substantial in health justice work, yet public health and other professionals often see their knowledge and the status it gives them as disempowering to disenfranchised communities. The blanket position that "the community knows best" frequently unnecessarily puts communities in the position of having "to re-invent the wheel."
Dr. Chavis offers several suggestions to address these two challenges:
- Be the organizational change that you would like to see in the community. Embrace social justice within the organization.
- Learn how to use power and conflict for progressive social change.
- Form true partnerships with community leaders.
- Engage and learn about other movements (e.g., education and economic).
- Prepare students for social change work.
- Treat community leaders and residents as adults. Stop “dummying down”. Educate.
- Treat this work as if it’s life or death.
I think Dr. Chavis’ recommendations are on the mark. Non-profit organizations like the Asian Pacific Community in Action are right at the intersection of public health science and health justice. To be most effective, our disease specific work (e.g., hepatitis B screening and breast cancer education) needs to be integrated with purposeful community organizing and mobilization efforts. The challenge for us is to lend science and rigor to community work while recognizing that community interests and assets are at the heart of social change. I thank Dr. Chavis for his insights and encouragement.
- Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
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