Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Zenobia T. Lai, Community Law Project, Greater Boston Legal Services, 197 Friend Street, Boston, MA 02114, (617) 603-1647, zeno_lai@yahoo.com

The community health studies in this session highlight the interrelation between human rights, civil rights and public health rights issues facing Chinese immigrants in the United States. From a domestic civil rights standpoint, the dearth of health data of Americans of Asian heritage as a racial group and as individual ethnic groups means that limited resources have been directed to the research of health status or preventive care for this entire population segment. Segregated health data on Asian Americans as a distinct population group did not exist until very recently, but the utility of such data is further diminished by overly simplistic demographic categorization that lumps all Asians into one group, without recognizing the distinct backgrounds and needs of the various ethnic groups. On an international human rights level, the poor health status, the lack of health knowledge and the non-existence of health maintenance practices among immigrants from China are linked to how the Chinese government fail to fulfill its obligation under the various international covenants, such as the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, among others. The complete disappearance of free or affordable health care to the non-urban population in China since the economic boom starting in the 80s translate into the generally poorer health status of immigrants from China. The studies on Chinese immigrants demonstrate the interplay of domestic and international factors on the health of immigrants, which is common across immigrant groups. Appreciation of these factors will promote better public health assessment and planning for immigrants.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn about the importance of understanding the health status and conditions of home countries of immigrants in public health assessment and planning for immigrant population.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation