Korean-American Community Health in California

University of California at Berkeley: Center for Family and Community Health

Topics:
Cancer | Nutrition & Physical Activity for Adults | Tobacco Prevention & Control

Researchers are analyzing data from state and local surveys to identify the health issues of California’s Korean-American population. The center’s Korean Community Advisory Board (KCAB) will share the results with local Korean communities and other stakeholders to establish health priorities, and work with center staff to address them. The data to be analyzed are from California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS), collected over several years and completed by 800 Korean-Americans; and a 2003 Korean-American Tobacco Use Survey (KATUS), completed by 1,900 Korean residents.

The CHIS data will provide information about Korean Americans’ diet, physical activity, medical conditions, and unmet health care needs. It will also provide reports on the groups’ medical insurance coverage and reasons for not having insurance, use of local health care services, number of and reasons for doctor visits, and participation in cancer prevention screenings. By analyzing the tobacco-use surveys, researchers will learn about Korean Americans’ smoking behaviors and the factors that influence them, such as mental health issues; tobacco use of family, friends, and co-workers; community, workplace, and home smoking restrictions; and exposure to cigarette advertising and health promotion campaigns.

The KCAB, researchers, and local communities will use the data to determine the most common diseases affecting Korean-Americans and the contributing risk behaviors, the barriers to preventing these diseases and to promoting health; and the health disparities of Korean-Americans compared with those of other Americans and other people of Asian or Pacific Island ethnicity. They will then design interventions to address these issues.

 

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