Myth of the well-adjusted Asian American defied

WASHINGTON - Challenging the “myth of the well-adjusted Asian American,” two University at Buffalo researchers have detailed how members of one of the country’s fastest-growing ethnic groups face crucial disadvantages preventing them from receiving quality health care taken for granted by other, more culturally assimilated Americans.

In the study, UB School of Social Work professors Wooksoo Kim and Robert H. Keefe write that Asian Americans cannot be carelessly lumped together with such easy stereotypes as “well adjusted” or “successful.”

In addition to the many Asian Americans who have assimilated well and become accomplished professionals, able to enjoy all the accompanying benefits, millions of Asian Americans still face daunting obstacles that stand in the way of quality health care, the UB researchers say.

Their conclusions are based on analysis of previous research into health care disparities among U.S. racial and ethnic groups, including Asian Americans, and upon U.S. Census data.

Four major barriers-language and culture, health literacy, health insurance and immigrant status-create vast differences between some Asian Americans with access to good health care and those who endure these barriers as best they can, the researchers conclude in their study,

“Previous researchers (who studied selective nationalities or regional groups) may extrapolate from their findings to form a model they believe is representative of all Asian Americans. This limitation not only fails to flush out differences among the Asian-American groups not being studied, but the one group under study is unlikely to be representative of its own ethnic Asian-American population,” explained Kim and Keefe.

All these factors “perpetuate the myth of the well-adjusted Asian American,” the researchers found.

“Asian Americans are considered a ‘model minority,’ which prevents many Asian Americans from getting help when they need it, and this study addresses that issue. There is a dire need to expand our knowledge regarding better health care services for Asian Americans. I hope health care providers and policy makers become more cognizant of the needs of 12 million Asian Americans in this country,” explained Kim.

The study has been published in Social Work in Public Health. (ANI)