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Preventive Health Services Delivery to South Asians in the United States

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Abstract

There is limited information on the health status of South Asians. Our objective was to examine the delivery of clinical preventive services to South Asian adults. We used data from a 2001 mail survey to a nationwide sample of South Asians. We quantified the percentage of eligible adults who received screenings for colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, high blood pressure, lipid disorders, and vaccinations against influenza, pneumococcus, and tetanus. We also calculated the number of individuals who were up-to-date with all their recommended preventive healthcare. One-fourth of South Asians were up-to-date with their recommended preventive services, while more than half were not up-to-date with their services. Having a regular source of care was significantly associated with being up-to-date on recommended schedules. Despite their high level of education, the majority of South Asians in the US are not receiving the appropriate amount of preventive health services.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was through support of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and National Research Service Award Fellowship (NB). Abstract presented at 2009 Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Conference.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, C109 RNRC, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1769, USA

    Nazleen Bharmal

  2. Department of Medicine, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Saima Chaudhry

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  1. Nazleen Bharmal
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  2. Saima Chaudhry
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Correspondence to Nazleen Bharmal.

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Bharmal, N., Chaudhry, S. Preventive Health Services Delivery to South Asians in the United States. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 797–802 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9610-x

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