Oral

Racial/ethnic disparities in health persist and have been increasing over the past several decades in the United States (US). At the same time, the US immigrant population has grown incredibly, with the foreign-born population nearly doubling from 20 million to 40 million between 1990 and 2010. As a result, immigrants, their children, and grandchildren contributed to half of US population grown in the last decade. Latino and Asian immigrants are by far the largest and fastest growing groups. If current trends continue, by 2050 Latinos and Asians taken together will represent one-third of the US population. Because the health, social, and behavioral characteristics of foreign-born immigrants and their US-born children differ significantly from the US-born white population, this dramatic increase in immigration will exert an influence on health disparities in the US. Thus, as the largest and fastest growing groups, health patterns among Asian and Latino immigrants and their children may influence the shape and nature of health disparities overall, within, and between groups. The goal of this special session is to share research in the areas of cancer and obesity on Asian and Latino immigrants that is being conducted by the Cross National Research Network on Place Migration and Health that is supported by the Kellogg Health Scholars Program and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The mission of the Network is to generate and improve knowledge on the links between migration processes and the health of immigrants, their families, and their sending and receiving communities using a cross-national lens for research and policy. Specifically, this session will cover research that examines social and behavioral determinants of cancer and obesity between and within immigrant groups as well as community-engaged intervention research that seeks to address disparities in cancer screening and obesity. Thus, this panel brings together epidemiologic research that employs a lens of migration and disparities to understand adverse health outcomes among Asian and Latino subgroups with the ultimate goal of informing prevention and wellness using community-engaged intervention research that tests innovative approaches for immigrant groups.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe cancer and obesity patterns along with modifiable risk factors for these outcomes among Asians and Latino immigrants. 2. Understand the heterogeneous nature of the cancer and obesity patterns among immigrant groups by nativity, length of residence in the US and socioeconomic status. 3. Articulate community-based interventions to reduce obesity and increase cancer screening among immigrant populations

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)