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Investigating the Myth of the “Model Minority”: A Participatory Community Health Assessment of Chinese and Vietnamese Adults

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Abstract

Despite the persistent belief that Asians are the “model minority” there is accumulating evidence of health concerns within Asian subgroups. In this study, we implemented a cross-sectional participatory community health assessment in an urban city in Massachusetts, to understand differences and similarities in demographics, health and healthcare access in Chinese and Vietnamese adults. We gathered qualitative data from community stakeholders to inform the development of a community health assessment tool. The tool elicited information on healthcare access, health status, behavioral health and chronic disease history and treatment. Healthcare access issues and poor health status, particularly among Chinese participants and mental health symptomotology in both groups were areas of concern. These findings revealed important health concerns in two Asian ethnic groups. Studies are needed to better understand these concerns and inform programs and policies to improve health outcomes in these Asian ethnic groups.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported with funding from the Office for Health Equity (OHE-MDPH) at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dianne Hagan, Health Disparities Reduction Grants Manager from OHE-MDPH for the review of this manuscript and the study participants for their involvement in this research. Dr. Shalini Tendulkar’s efforts are supported, in part by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program (LRP) award from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Community Health/Cambridge Health Alliance, 163 Gore Street, Cambridge, MA, 02141, USA

    Shalini Ahuja Tendulkar, Chieh Chu, Lisa Arsenault & Elisa Friedman

  2. Department of Community Affairs, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Renée Cammarata Hamilton & Elisa Friedman

  3. Healthy Malden, Inc., Malden, MA, USA

    Kevin Duffy

  4. Malden High School, Malden, MA, USA

    Van Huynh

  5. Chinese Culture Connection, Malden, MA, USA

    Mei Hung

  6. Boston Education Resources, Boston, MA, USA

    Eric Lee

  7. Hallmark Health VNA and Hospice, Boston, MA, USA

    Shwuling Jane

Authors
  1. Shalini Ahuja Tendulkar
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  2. Renée Cammarata Hamilton
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  3. Chieh Chu
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  4. Lisa Arsenault
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  6. Van Huynh
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  7. Mei Hung
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  8. Eric Lee
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  9. Shwuling Jane
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  10. Elisa Friedman
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Correspondence to Shalini Ahuja Tendulkar.

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Tendulkar, S.A., Hamilton, R.C., Chu, C. et al. Investigating the Myth of the “Model Minority”: A Participatory Community Health Assessment of Chinese and Vietnamese Adults. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 850–857 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9517-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9517-y

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