Decreasing Asian American health disparities

In a postpandemic world in which public health is a prime concern, societal pressures still prevent many Asian American people from prioritizing their health.

Sunmin Lee, a professor of medicine at UC Irvine, is a social epidemiologist focusing particularly on health disparities faced by the Asian American population.

Many Asian immigrants struggle with adjusting to a new culture and language barriers, which affects their health. Diligence and hard work are often valued above adequate sleep – leading to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

In addition, Asian Americans frequently ignore preventive care, only seeking medical attention when symptoms arise. Because effective cancer treatment requires early detection, cancer is now the primary cause of death for this demographic.

According to Lee, the model minority myth also contributes to the problem, as it portrays Asians in America as successful and educated, obscuring the diversity among the group. This misconception ignores the vast population of Asian Americans who cannot afford access to healthcare – leading to underdiagnosis and undertreatment.

To combat these issues, Lee is involved in two National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities-funded projects: Screening to Overcome and Prevent Colorectal Cancer and Disparities Research to Evaluate Asian Americans’ Multifaceted Stressors on Sleep and Health.

STOP CRC, as the first is known, addresses the fact that Asian Americans have the lowest screening rate for colorectal cancer of all ethnic groups in the country. In this study, Lee’s team is surveying 400 Chinese and Korean Americans on what holds them back from getting screened for colorectal cancer.

Lee works closely with physicians to hire and train patient navigators to offer specialized advice to those who answered survey questions about the barriers and misinformation around colorectal cancer screening. So far, the cohort has had a 50 percent increase in its screening rate.

The intervention was more effective in lower-income people who did not have access to healthcare and health insurance, Lee says, highlighting the merit of targeted programs for the Asian American community.

Her other project, known as DREAMS, is an observational study in which Lee’s team follows 750 Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans over years, collecting data on their sleep and health indicators. Participants wear sleep monitoring devices, and their biomarkers – including body mass index and cholesterol and glucose levels – are regularly assessed. Through this, Lee hopes to uncover the long-term effects of stress and lack of sleep on the community’s health outcomes.

A first-generation immigrant from South Korea, she connects with study subjects over shared experiences. Lee came to the U.S. to pursue a doctorate at Harvard University but struggled with discrimination and the language – which affected her health and sleep. After talking to others, she learned that these stressors are common among Asian immigrants.

“I feel a responsibility toward helping my community,” Lee says. “If I don’t, Asians will continue to be an understudied, invisible population in our society and in health research.”

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