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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Yin Tan, MD¹, Grace X. Ma, PhD², Sae Young Lee, PhD², and Anny Pham, MSW(c)². (1) Public Health, Temple University Center for Asian Health, P.O. Box 2843, Philadelphia, PA 19122, (215) 787-5432, ytan@temple.edu, (2) Center for Asian Health, College of Health Professions, Temple University, 1415 N Broad St. - Suite 116, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Asian Americans represent one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. The latest Census data indicate that in PA and NJ, the increase was 75 percent. In NY, Asians make up 6.2 percent of the state's population. A large subset of the Asian-American multicultural population is poorly educated, uninsured, and medically underserved. As a group, Asians suffer inordinately high rates of cervical, breast, stomach, prostate, colorectal, and hepatitis B-related liver cancers. Studies suggested that colorectal cancer risk increase with increasing years in Asian immigrants (e.g., Chinese and Korean) living in North America. However, little has been published regarding colorectal cancer patterns and interventions focusing on colorectal cancer in this population.

In response to the needs of Asian communities, a five-year community based participatory project, ATECAR-Asian Community Cancer Network was initiated in 2000 and continued through funding the National Cancer Institute in 2005. ATECAR addresses four major ethnic groups residing in the Eastern region of the United States-Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Cambodians. This presentation will address the process of ATECAR colorectal cancer intervention program development and community participatory practices in disseminating information and getting community “buy-in”. The challenges of informatics and information dissemination on colorectal cancer in these populations will be presented based on previous 5 years of research experience through these communities and a network system of more than 70 community-based organizational partners, research collaborators, bilingual and multi-ethnic professionals, and an extensive record of research publications on a range of cancer health disparity issues.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participants will be able to

• Describe the process of gathering community empowerment among Asian Americans in addressing colorectal cancer.
• Identify at least two barriers to reducing colorectal cancer and issues of culture in this population
• Describe strategies for overcoming the challenges in this population.

Keywords: Asian Americans, Cancer

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No