Health Promotion in Asian American Minority
Asian Americans is one of the minority groups living in the United States. They have unique culture and beliefs that may contradict that of Western medicine. It is important for healthcare provider to be culturally sensitive and competent to provide proper care. There are also barriers to receiving care such as lack of insurance and language barrier. Using health promotion and preventative care is the key to helping Asian Americans with disease conditions such as colorectal cancer.
Asian Americans make up five percent of national population. Roughly fifty percent of population attained at least a bachelor’s degree in education. Asian American women have the life expectancy of eighty five years, which is the longest expectancy compared to other ethnic groups. Asian Americans live healthier than others possibly due to their high education and economic security (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
Asian American can be divided into many different subgroups based on religion, culture, and country of origin. Because of this, it is hard to generalize Asian American as a whole. One of the more common beliefs in health promotion is the idea of family centered orientation. Asian Americans prefer to promote their health as whole in family and community. Asian Americans also prefer Eastern Medicine approach compared to the Western Medicine approach used in the United States. Western approach believes that disease is caused by external force such as virus or our own body degenerating as we age. Eastern approach believes that the body is whole, and each parts of the body are intricately connected (Carteret, 2011). What affects one part of the body will also affect the rest of the body, and the treatment plan should also be geared toward the whole body. Balance and harmony is very important to Asian cultures. Because of the difference in approach, many Asian Americans do not like to seek medical treatment in United...