Health Needs Assessments of Asian Americans: Findings from Focus groups of 13 Asian American Communities

Background: Due to a widely misconceived ‘model minority myth', Asian Americans are often assumed healthier than other racial/ethnic groups in general, and as such their health needs especially from underrepresented communities have not been heard, understood, or/and addressed appropriately.

Objective: To assess health needs in 13 Asian American communities.

Methods: As a part of Asian American Health Action Plan supported by a county government, we conducted 19 focus groups in 13 Asian American communities including 7 under-represented communities (Asian Indian, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nepalese, Pakistani, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese) between May and July 2007 in Montgomery County, Maryland. Open-ended questions were used to collect qualitative data on health needs, health care access, and community health resources.

Results: Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mental health were the top three health concerns that were brought up most frequently across 13 Asian American communities. Almost all groups expressed concerns of lacking access to health care services primarily due to health insurance and language barriers. Many participants were not receiving preventive health service such as cancer screening due to a lack of access to health care or lack of awareness of preventive care. Additionally, these under-represented communities lack adequate health resources and advocacy, potentially due to a relatively shorter history of immigration and a small population.

Discussion: The results render support for training community health promoters in health and advocacy to deliver culturally appropriate health education and disseminating health-related information using community social networks.