Can Filipino nurses and doctors impact health disparities in the Filipino community?

Background: Filipinos in Texas have a very favorable socioeconomic profile, 50% have management, professional or related occupations and 42% are in educational, health and social services industries, compared to 38% and 29% respectively, nationwide. Despite many being employed as physicians and nurses, and being English proficient, major disparities in heart disease, diabetes, and cancer persist. The Institute of Medicine recommends increasing the number of minority health professionals as one of the key strategies to reduce health disparities because in some minority communities, having medical professionals of the same ethnic background helps in conveying culturally relevant recommendations. However, Filipino Americans are generally overrepresented in the healthcare work force. We sought to explore why disparities exist in spite of high percentages of Filipino doctors and nurses in the US. Objective: To understand the role of Filipino health professionals on reducing health disparities among Filipino Americans by examining their practices and recommendations. Methods: Prior to participating in focus groups, Filipino physicians and nurses completed a survey including questions on their medical practice and patient recommendations for prevention and screening. Results: 16 physicians, 10 males and 6 females, ages 34-79 and 17 nurses, all females, ages 43-69, completed the survey. All were born in the Philippines and 97% received medical training there. Although the majority supported cancer and health screening recommendations, 60% reported seeing no Asian or Filipino patients in their practices and many worked in clinical settings where these recommendations were not applicable. Conclusions: Although Filipino Americans may be highly represented in the medical profession, their potential for influencing their community's health behaviors may be limited due to their practice settings. Community-based organizations can connect the Filipino community with Filipino health professionals through coordinating health screenings and seminars on relevant health topics where they can serve as culturally competent content experts.