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Addressing the Health Needs of High-Risk Filipino Americans in the Greater Philadelphia Region

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Abstract

Filipino Americans represent one of the largest and most diverse immigrant populations in the United States. It has been established that chronic diseases are a significant public health issue affecting this population. We conducted a health needs assessment of 200 Filipino Americans aged 18 years or older residing in the greater Philadelphia region. Study participants were recruited from eight Filipino community-based organizations in the region. Information about demographic and acculturative characteristics, health behaviors, self-reported chronic health conditions, and chronic disease perception were collected. Participants were older and highly acculturated. With regards to health behaviors, several did not meet dietary fruit and vegetables intake and physical activity guidelines. The top five health conditions were high blood pressure (67.5 %), high blood cholesterol (57.1 %), arthritis (28.9 %), diabetes (21.8 %), and cancer (14.7 %). Majority of participants perceived high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes to be a concern in their community, and had high awareness of the risk factors associated with these diseases. Reported rates of hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes suggest that lifestyle interventions targeting diet and physical activity, in addition to health education, are needed in this population.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the partners, volunteers, community coordinators of Asian Community Health Coalition and Filipino community organizations and research team at the Center for Asian Health, Temple University, who facilitated and supported the data collection of the study.

Funding

This research was supported by faculty research funds (PI Dr. Grace Ma) and NIH funded U54 CA152512 Asian Community Cancer Health Disparities Center (PI: Dr. Grace Ma). CDC funded U58 REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) (PI: Grace Ma).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Asian Health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19122-0843, USA

    Aisha Bhimla, Lauren Yap, Minsun Lee, Brenda Seals, Hermie Aczon & Grace X. Ma

  2. Filipino American Society of South Jersey, Inc., Sicklerville, NJ, USA

    Hermie Aczon

  3. Filipino Executive Council of Greater Philadelphia, Inc., Mount Laurel, NJ, USA

    Hermie Aczon

Authors
  1. Aisha Bhimla
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  2. Lauren Yap
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  3. Minsun Lee
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  6. Grace X. Ma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grace X. Ma.

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Bhimla, A., Yap, L., Lee, M. et al. Addressing the Health Needs of High-Risk Filipino Americans in the Greater Philadelphia Region. J Community Health 42, 269–277 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0252-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0252-0

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