The Health Of South Asians In The United States

Leading scholars and practitioners come together in this contributed volume to present the most current evidence on cutting edge health issues for South Asian Americans, the fastest growing Asian American population. The book spans a variety of health topics while examining disparities and special health needs for this population. Subjects discussed include: cancer, obesity, HIV/AIDS, women's health, LGBTQ health and mental health. Health of South Asians in the United States presents research-based recommendations to help determine priorities for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, education, and policies which will optimize the health and well-being of South Asian American communities in the United States. Although aimed at both students, healthcare professionals and policy makers, this book will prove to be useful to anyone interested in the health and well-being of the South Asian communities in the United States.

This volume is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary text to holistically improve understanding of the health of South Asians residing in the United States by considering biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors of health. The vast literatures of diverse fields – psychology, medicine, public health, social work, and health policy – are integrated by leading scholars, scientists, and practitioners in these areas to explore the impact of South Asian cultural factors on health, health risk, and illness. Chapters incorporate available theoretical and empirical information on the status of chronic health conditions in South Asians in the United States, with consideration of future directions to improve understanding of the health of this group. Cultural and ethnic insights imperative for clinical/community/medical practitioners to provide effective and culturally-appropriate care and treatment from an interdisciplinary lens are provided.

The South Asian Health Solution is the first book to provide an ancestral health-based wellness plan culturally tailored for those of South Asian ancestry living in India, the United States and across the world – a population identified as being at the highest risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and related conditions. Dr. Ronesh Sinha, an internal medicine specialist in California’s Silicon Valley, sees high risk South Asian patients and runs education and wellness programs for corporate clients. He has taken many South Asians out of the high risk, high body mass category and helped them reverse disease risk factors without medications. His comprehensive lifestyle modification approach has been validated by cutting edge medical science and the real-life success stories he profiles throughout the book.

"Not Fit to Stay: Public Health Panics and South Asian Exclusion examines how and why South Asians were prevented from immigrating to British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California between 1900 and 1920. In the first decades of the twentieth century, all Asian immigrants to Canada and the United States faced opposition to their arrival and settlement. While racism and fear of labour competition were at the heart of this resistance, panic soon swept up and down the West Coast of North America over unsubstantiated public health concerns. Public leaders--including physicians, union leaders, civil servants, journalists, and politicians--latched on to these health concerns as the basis for the exclusion of the South Asians, who were said to suffer from medical conditions and diseases attributed to their race. Even though many officials knew the public health argument had no grounds, they promoted it to support their racist views and concerns about labour. Legislation to restrict the immigration of South Asians took effect in Canada in 1908 and in the United States in 1917. This book is an important study of how white North Americans saw first-wave South Asian immigrants as separate from, and inferior to, other groups in the evolving racial hierarchy on the West Coast of North America."--

"The authors are to be commended for a book which should be very helpful for mental health professionals taking care of South Asian patients. The book uses case histories to illustrate a range of issues, which may come up in the treatment of this ethno-cultural group. The cases cut across genders, age groups, socioeconomic groups, diagnostic categories, and other clinical matters pertaining to abuse and domestic violence among South Asians born in South Asia and in the United States. The cases illustrate issues related to immigration, acculturation, stigma, access to care, and familial and intergenerational problems. The cases make teaching points about the impact of culture on clinical presentation and treatment, focusing on how culture and religion can be both a hindrance and an asset. The authors describe how to use cultural understanding in diagnosis and treatment" (Iqbal Ahmed MD, FRCPsych, UK).

Discusses the South Asian community in America including the history of political activism, an analysis of the shifting ideas of culture, and examines the wave of violence the community experienced right after September 11.

Describes why many South Asians immigrated to the United States and how they achieved success in the computer and health-care service industries.

"Currently, about 5.4 million South Asians live in the United States. About 80 percent are of Indian origin, followed by Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, and Bhutanese. This unique book compiles comprehensive evidence-based literature on the prevalence, nature, and type of social issues that South Asians in the United States deal with, along with culturally responsive, intersectional-aware interventions for social work students, practitioners, and other helping professionals. South Asians are termed as the "model minority" due to their rapid financial and social success in the mainstream. Many Americans think that this community is free of social problems. However, in reality, there are a number of social issues that South Asians deal with, including those related to domestic violence, mental health, parenting, the workplace, and aging. It is hard for the South Asian community to acknowledge that these issues exist in their own community due to the stigmatization of "failure" and the shame associated with it. Moreover, there is a dearth of South Asian-specific research, knowledge, and skills that practitioners need to work with South Asians. This book examines many of the issues that the South Asian community in the United States deals with, offering an intersectional perspective, culturally competent interventions, and hope for this underserved population"--