Publications/ Presentations

The mental health crisis impacting youth communities has resulted in two calls to action: 1) to consider cultural meanings when developing solutions and 2) to engage minoritized youth in research to capture lived experiences. This reflective essay describes the qualitative phase of a project to support the well-being of South Asian youth living in the United States We illustrate the value of the Culture-Centered Approach and how incorporating the concept of communication infrastructures can address these two calls by 1) enabling thoughtful reflections of culture grounded in youth perspectives and 2) helping clarify the ideals of community-engaged praxis that foster youth engagement in research.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2026.2669337

Although successful utilization of medical and preventive care by members of the non-US born communities is an important public health concern, our knowledge regarding health practices of different ethnic subgroups is limited. In the present study, participants of the health fairs organized during South Asian cultural and religions events were asked anonymously to complete the South Asian Total Health Initiative (SATHI) health survey questionnaire to evaluate their health-related practices, self-health perception, and satisfaction with medical care. Among 1,250 surveyed, 1,016 foreign born Asian Indians adults that represented the fastest growing subgroups of the South Asian born nationals in the US were included in the analysis. We found that the majority reported healthy behavior (exercise activities and abstinence from alcohol or tobacco), high self-health perception, satisfaction with medical care, and compliance with annual routine medical examinations that was directly associated with the annual house income. Approximately 40% of women complied with breast and cervical cancer screenings and less than 20% of men complied with prostate cancer screening guidelines. Presence of chronic conditions (mostly cardiovascular pathology and/or diabetes) that were reported by approximately half of the participants negatively impacted their self-health perception. In conclusion, positive self-reported health perception and compliance with routine health examinations of the surveyed foreign born Asian Indians was reported along with an increased rate of chronic morbidity and underutilization of specific preventive services. Observed discrepancy between self-health perception and health status highlights the need to enhance utilization of preventive services among the non-US born Asian Indian community.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9449-4