Conducting Community Based Research with Asian American Populations
Beverly J. Gor,1 Janice Chilton,1 Richard Hajek,1 Mala Pande,2 Luceli Cuasay,3 Gayathri Kongovi,4 Lovell A. Jones1
1The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Center for Health Equity and Evaluation Research; 2Department of Epidemiology;
3Filipino
American Council of Southeast Texas, 4 Indian American Cancer Network. Poster # 178- WTP
MDACC Protocol 2006-0828:
Health & Cancer Needs
Of the South Asian Community
MDACC Protocol 2009-0220:
Filipino Health Needs Assessment
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
We are looking for individuals to participate in focus
groups about the health status and health needs of
the Asian Indian community.
Who can participate?
 Asian Indian men and women, 18 years and older
 Live in Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria or Galveston
counties
 Able to speak and understand English or Hindi
Background
•The Asian American population in Texas is the third largest in the US.
•Census 2010 indicated that the Asian community in Houston/Harris County grew
more than any other group (1)
•Relatively little is known about the health of the Asian American population
.•In 2004-2005, the Center for Health Equity and Evaluation Research conducted the
first phase of the Asian American Health Needs Assessment (AsANA), a health
needs assessment of the Chinese and Vietnamese communities in Houston and its
surrounding counties (2)
•Results of the study identified health disparities and grant s were successfully
written to address those problems.
•Lessons learned are now being applied to conduct similar assessments in the
South Asian and Filipino communities.
Participants will receive a $20 gift card for participation. Focus group
sessions will last approximately 2 hours and will be held at a
community facility. For more information or to participate, contact Dr.
Beverly Gor, bjgor@mdanderson.org, (713) 563-2750 or Dr. Mala Pande,
mpande@mdanderson.org, (713) 745-5625. Thank you!
Getting to Know Asian American Communities
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Literature review of health and cancer issues
Attend community events, observing practices and customs
Identifying and meeting with community leaders and members
Listening to their concerns and understanding their cultural perspectives
Offering to share health information
Memoranda of Agreement with community organizations
Partnering on funding opportunities
Methodology
• Qualitative
• Focus groups
• Key Informant Interviews
• Identifying health priorities and themes
• Quantitative
• Developing a culturally and linguistically appropriate survey instrument, including relevant
topics
• Administering the survey to a statistically significant sample
• Analyzing data with assistance of community members (interpretation of results)
• Providing the data to the community
• Designing appropriate interventions to address the identified problems
Results (Asian Indians)
 4 focus groups were conducted:
Males >55 years old
Females > 55 years
US Born Males & Females <55 years
Non US Born Males & Females <55 years
 10 Key Informant Interviews completed
 Diabetes, cancer, and hypertension were the
top three health concerns
 Focus group themes include:
-poor health literacy
-acceptance of increased weight with age
- inevitability of high cholesterol
-acceptability of sedentary lifestyle
-stigma towards mental illness
-poor dietary habits
-alternate forms of tobacco use, i.e., betel leaf
Results (Filipinos)
 Literature shows cancer incidence and mortality
increasing among Filipino Americans (3)
 4 focus groups were conducted:
Physicians >55 years old
Physicians < 55 years old
Nurses > 55 years
Nurses < 55 years old
Future Directions
 For the South Asian study, we will be
-designing and administering a health needs
survey in the Asian Indian community
-conducting qualitative data collection in the
Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan communities
 For the Filipino study, we will be
- conducting additional focus groups with nonhealth professionals, students and community
members
- designing and administering a health needs
survey in the Filipino community
- Need to examine access to cancer screenings in
this population.
 For both communities, we will
- Publish reports to inform the community of
findings
- Assist them in applying for funding to address
identified needs through culturally relevant and
linguistically appropriate health education programs
- Develop manuscripts to disseminate information
to researchers conducting similar studies
References
1)
2)
2)
 In spite of high percentages being employed in
healthcare, few have opportunity to influence
cancer and health screenings in the community.
 Older Filipino healthcare professionals think
most patients do not comply with
recommendations for healthy lifestyle and
tobacco cessation
Census 2010. U.S. Census Bureau.
Gor BJ, Shelton AJ, Esparza A, Yi JK, Hoang TV, Liang,
JC, Jones, LA. Development of a health risk factors
questionnaire for Chinese and Vietnamese residents of
the Houston, Texas area. J Immigrant Minority Health,
2008 Aug;10 (4):373-7.
Chu KC, Chu KT. 1999-2001 Cancer mortality rates for
Asian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups with
comparisons to their 1988-1992 rates. Cancer. 2005
Dec 15; 104 (12 Suppl): 2989-98.
The Asian American Health Needs
Assessment (AsANA) study was
supported by: