A Vulnerable

Population: Asian
Americans
Ashley Hobbs,
Sydney Narvaez,
Tarryn OMahoney
(Group 10)
Definition: Asian Americans
Definition: The population of people having origins in any of the original
peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including,
for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

(Hoeffel, Rastogi, Kim, & Shahid, 2012)

Demographics: Asian
Americans
An estimated 17.3 million Asian Americans live in the United States according
to the 2015 Census Bureau population estimate.

Asian Americans account for 5.4% of the United States population

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,

2017)
Demographics of Asian
Americans: Economics
According to 2015 Census data

Median household income of Asian Americans is $77,368, compared to

$61,394 for non-Hispanic whites

However, 12% of Asian Americans live at the poverty level, compared

to 10.4% of non-Hispanic whites

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,

2017)
Demographics of Asian
Americans: Educational Level
According to the 2015 U.S. Census data

About 86.5% of all Asians and all people in the United States 25 and older
had at least a high school diploma.

52.3% of Asian Americans in comparison to 34.2% of the total non-

Hispanic white population had earned at least a bachelor's degree.

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,

2017)
Health Disparities in Asian
Americans
Cancer
Hepatitis B
Tuberculosis (TB)
Health Disparity: Cancer
Since the early 1980s, cancer among Asian American women has
established itself as the leading cause of death.
Additionally, compared to other ethnic groups, Asian Americans are likely
to develop cancer originating from an infectious disease, such as HPV or
Hepatitis B.
In comparison to White Americans, Asian Americans have a significantly
higher risk, up to 11.3 times, greater chance of developing liver cancer.

(National Center for Reducing Asian American Cancer Health Disparities, 2012)
Health Disparity: Hepatitis B
In comparison to White Americans, Asian Americans have a 5.5. greater
chance of developing and living with chronic hepatitis B.

Approximately 1 in 12 Asian Americans currently live with hepatitis B,

which contributes to the high mortality rate among this group

The mortality rate due to hepatitis B infection among this group is

estimated to be 2.6 per 100,000.

(Hepatitis Foundation International, 2017)

Health Disparity: Tuberculosis
(TB)
Asian Americans represented approximately 32% of the reported cases
of TB within the United States

Furthermore, Asian Americans have an incidence rate of 18.2 per 100,000

cases compared to the 0.6 per 100,000 rate for White Americans and 4.8
per 100,000 rate for Hispanics & Latinos.

(Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2014a, 2014b)

Nursing Intervention for Culturally
Competent Care of Asian Americans
- SOP #11 Communication: Offer the Asian American client a clinician that speaks
their native language or an interpreter if available.

- Rationale: Many Asian Americans have limited English proficiency and are
therefore less likely to receive regular health care or preventive services. This
language barrier puts Asian Americans in a vulnerable position because not only is
it difficult to understand the language clinicians use, but other fliers and
information that is offered for preventative services or screenings is not easily
understood as well. A study conducted by Green et. al (2005) found that Asian
Americans who worked with clinicians that were native speakers of their language
were more satisfied with their experience because they could explain in greater
detail what is occurring in regards to their health and better understand the plan of
care.

(Green et al., 2005)

 Nursing Intervention for Culturally
Competent Care of Asian Americans
- SOP #1 Assessment: When completing his or her assessment, the public health nurse
should identify the vulnerable population of Asian Americans in regards to chronic
hepatitis B and suggest further testing.

- Rationale: Close to 70% of Asian Americans are born in another country, and 58% of
people with foreign born chronic hepatitis B are from Asia. One third of Asian Americans
living in the US do not know they have chronic hepatitis B. Recognizing this significant
health disparity upon assessment allows for the nurse to suggest further testing that the
Asian American may not know is relevant. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention suggest that people born in areas with moderate to high rates of hepatitis B
(such as Asia) and people born in the US not vaccinated at birth with at least one parent
from an area with moderate to high rates of hepatitis B get tested.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016)

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016). Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and chronic hepatitis B. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/populations/api.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014a, March 1). Health Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, TB.
Retrieved
April 10, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthdisparities/asians.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014b, October 9). Trends in Tuberculosis [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved April 10,
2017 from
https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/statistics/tbtrends.htm
Green, A. R., Ngo-Metzger, Q., Legedza, A. T. R., Massagli, M. P., Phillips, R. S., & Iezzoni, L. I. (2005). Interpreter services,
language
concordance, and health care quality. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 20, 1050-1056. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1490255/
Hepatitis Foundation International. (2017). Hard to Reach, Hard to Treat: Health Disparities on Asian Americans. Retrieved
April 10,
2017, from http://hepatitisfoundation.org/hard-to-reach-hard-to-treat/health-disparities-on-asian-americans/
Hoeffel, E. M., Rastogi, S., Kim, M. O., & Shahid, H. (2012, March). The Asian Population: 2010 [PDF]. United States
Census Bureau.
Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-11.pdf
National Center for Reducing Asian American Cancer Health Disparities. (2012). Asian American Cancer Health
Disparities.
Retrieved April 10, 2017, from