Isaac Yoon, Jonathan Wang Growing up in a Korean church that placed a heavy emphasis on outreach to other countries and spreading the gospel, I was introduced at a young age to the honorable efforts of health professionals combating health disparities in global communities. While funding and economic issues were the main reasons for the disparities in healthcare for countries such as Mongolia, I found that people with disabilities also experienced a big gap in both the availability of transportation and finding suitable vocations in many households to gain access to healthcare. However, from witnessing health professionals contribute to solving these disparities, I realized that these issues could all be resolved with a more thorough approach to healthcare. One way to achieve this thorough approach to healthcare to help underrepresented communities, specifically API communities in the United States, is better integration of Eastern and Western medicine in the healthcare system. Coming from a context of Eastern medicine and differing styles of healthcare and communication, many API individuals can find it hard to adapt to Western medicine and fully adapt to the system of healthcare in the United States. While Eastern medicine focuses more on well-rounded remedies such as acupuncture or exercise therapy, Western medicine focuses on addressing specific illnesses or targeting particular parts of the body to achieve immediate results. On the other hand, Eastern medicine uses herbal treatments where “herbs are combined in a specific proportion. The concept is that herbs work together to obtain the best response [having] no specific targets” (Zhang et al., 2019). While Western medicine remedies contain the same compounds as these herbs, “it has evolved from the use of herbs to the isolation and use of the most active ingredient in herbs, to the use of (semi-)synthetic compounds. Relatively recently acquired knowledge on the chemical structure of drugs and on specific targets, e.g., receptors, has made it possible to elucidate the molecular mode of action” (Zhang et al., 2019). In other words, Eastern medicine uses herbal mixtures that are not specific to certain parts of the body and instead boost the overall energy and health of the patient. On the other hand, Western medicine uses specific compounds commonly found in these herbs but concentrates them in certain medicines to create a more concentrated response in the body within targeted regions. This drastically varying method of treatment could intimidate or alienate APIs who may be used to the Eastern style of medicine, as though Western medicine remedies tend to have stronger responses due to the concentrated nature of the medicine, they also contain more side effects. Side effects from common allergy medicine, such as Benadryl, could lead to disappointment in API communities when they feel lethargic especially when the effects of eastern medicine such as “[Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)] are low. In TCM, patients are treated in a ‘personalized’ way according to the tradition and the doctor’s experience” (Zhang et al., 2019). The stark difference in personalization and care to the patient, side effects, and overall drug effectiveness are all ways APIs can feel alienated via Western medicine treatments. Furthermore, the temporary nature of Western remedies can lead to distrust of an API’s healthcare provider. Many APIs go to American healthcare providers with ailments expecting them to be less prone to sickness later down the line as a result of the consultation, but the truth is that the cold medicine provided by the U.S. healthcare system doesn’t have the effects of long-term immune system boost like Eastern herbal medicine would. Patients have reported a decrease in pain and improved recovery times after utilizing Eastern medicine such as acupuncture and various herbal products (Hopp, 2019). If the API individual were to get sick within the next month, they could grow hesitation against the healthcare provider which could lead to an invalidation of Western treatments as a whole. However, there are many cases where Western medicine is needed for Asian Americans. In our interview with Dr. Lee from Rapha Acupuncture, Dr. Lee stated that “Western medicine’s systematic nature of prescribing specific medications for specific cases leads to a consistency that can be relied on. If an Asian person gets a bacterial infection, they will get the same antibiotic prescribed to them no matter what clinic they go to and they will still undergo chemotherapy at any hospital if they get cancer. By forcefully killing viruses or cutting out problematic areas in the body, western medicine gives immediate results that are reliable and feasible.” Asian Pacific Health Corps (APHC) serves disadvantaged Asian and Pacific Islander communities. APHC hosts free bi-monthly health fairs, providing hypertension, BMI, vision, and other health services. During the Monterey Park Health Fair, we interviewed several patients about their decisions to attend. A common thread emerged among the respondents, with most highlighting the health fair's convenient location and the appealing factor of being free. This emphasis on affordability is exemplified in the article, "Barriers to Health Care Access in 13 Asian American Communities" as it sheds light on the broader challenges to Asian American health disparities. For instance, the insurance rate for whites is approximately twelve percent compared to seventeen percent for Asian Americans (Lee et al., 2010). Moreover, Asian American immigrants struggle to find stable jobs and income, which hinders their ability to afford healthcare. Due to COVID-19, the percentage of employed Asian American men dropped by 17.5 percent compared to only decreasing by 11 percent for Caucasian men (Kim, 2021). Additionally, language and cultural barriers alienate Asian Americans further through unconscious biases and communication differences. For instance, Asian Americans with limited English proficiency have difficulties understanding healthcare terminology and communicating with providers. Many Asian Americans believe that their doctors do not comprehend their culture (President's Advisory Commission, 2003). These can negatively impact the hiring and/or promotion of Asian Americans in the workplace, thereby creating larger health disparities in the community. Another way to ensure that underrepresented API individuals receive proper healthcare and resources is to ascertain that the information they receive about healthcare is tailored to their culture and understanding of medicine. For example, providing informational pamphlets about certain diseases, screenings, or clinics in different API languages so they can have a better understanding of these concepts can be important. In addition, even giving information about how certain Western medical procedures translate to Eastern medical procedures can help dramatically. For instance, Western pain management treatments such as injections or medications exhibit parallels to Eastern acupuncture. Specifically, many API individuals are more used to Eastern medicine than Western medicine, and giving out information about how certain Western medicine procedures are similar to Eastern medicine can help open these people up to other Western medicine processes. The article by Ming Huang asserts that combining Eastern and Western medicine alleviates circulatory and respiratory diseases, and has been "proven [effective] in the treatment of persistent fever, coma, and pulmonary effusion" (Huang, 2023). This understanding has the potential to bridge the gap of health disparities in the Asian American community. In conclusion, the disparities in healthcare such as lack of healthcare information and the inability to afford healthcare due to lack of financial support faced by Asian Pacific Islander (API) communities highlight the urgent need for comprehensive and culturally sensitive approaches to healthcare. Challenges such as affordability and employment opportunities ultimately widen health disparities in communities. Moreover, efforts to tailor healthcare information, including effective translation and communication, and bridge the gap between Eastern and Western medicine can enhance understanding and acceptance within API communities. The intersection of the lower insurance and employment rates as well as cultural obstacles, such as language barriers, deepens the health divide among Asian Americans, which underscores the need to promote equal access to healthcare for all members of the community. Dismantling the structural inequalities will bridge the healthcare gap between communities and can ensure a healthier and more inclusive society. Sources: Lee S, Martinez G, Ma GX, Hsu CE, Robinson ES, Bawa J, Juon HS. Barriers to health care access in 13 Asian American communities. Am J Health Behav. 2010 Jan-Feb;34(1):21-30. doi: 10.5993/ajhb.34.1.3. PMID: 19663748; PMCID: PMC6628721. Huang, Ming et al. “The role and advantage of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.” Journal of integrative medicine vol. 21,5 (2023): 407-412. doi:10.1016/j.joim.2023.08.003 https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/traditional-chinese-medicine-what-you-need-to-know(Hopp 2019) Kim AT, Kim C, Tuttle SE, Zhang Y. COVID-19 and the decline in Asian American employment. Res Soc Stratif Mobil. 2021 Feb;71:100563. doi: 10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100563. Epub 2020 Oct 8. PMID: 33052161; PMCID: PMC7543758. President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Addressing Health Disparities: Opportunities for Building a Healthier America, 2003 Zhang, M., Moalin, M., & Guido. (2019). Connecting West and East. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online), 20(9), 2333–2333. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20092333 About the Authors:
Isaac Yoon (he/him) is a 1st year biology major. He spends his free time going to the gym, playing the clarinet, playing basketball, playing video games, and hanging out with friends. Jonathan Wang (he/him) is a 2nd year psychobiology major. He spends his free time watching sports, especially basketball and football, hanging out with friends, and watching anime.
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