Improving heart health access for Filipino Americans through a community-based participatory research approach

Background and Significance: Filipino Americans exhibit higher rates of hypertension compared to White and other Asian American communities. Few interventions, however, have focused on controlling hypertension and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Filipino Americans. Moreover, existing studies have primarily targeted communities on the West Coast. Methods: Using innovative outreach and research methodologies, Project AsPIRE (Asian American Partnerships in Research and Empowerment) is a community-based participatory research project to improve health access and cardiovascular health status for Filipinos in New York City (NYC) and Jersey City (JC), New Jersey. This presentation will highlight preliminary findings from community-based screenings of 714 Filipinos. Participants were screened for blood pressure and serum glucose and cholesterol levels. An interviewer administered survey was used to assess participants' personal/family history of CVD, health utilization, insurance status, medication intake, and sociodemographic characteristics. Data was analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and ArcGIS technology. Results and Discussion: Preliminary findings show that 70% of Filipinos screened in JC and 54% of Filipinos screened in NYC had elevated blood pressure. Among hypertensive Filipinos, 33% in JC and 54% in NYC were uninsured. 29% of the entire Filipino sample had elevated cholesterol levels and 22% had elevated glucose levels. GIS maps will be presented which illustrate rates of hypertension by geographic location and the location of available resources (such as clinics and hospitals) relative to large concentrations of Filipino residents. We will conclude with a description of the community health worker intervention offered to screened participants and present findings assessing intervention efficacy.