Minority Women's Health - Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians - Health Topics - Health Topics - Getting Health Care and Talking to Your Doctor

Getting Health Care and Talking to Your Doctor

Many women can't get the right health services, medicines, and supplies when they need them. Some reasons for this include:

not having health insurance and/or being able to afford it

not having a way to get to a doctor

having physical limitations that make it hard to get to a doctor

lack of child care

not being able to take time away from work

not understanding the language

Asian American/Pacific Islander women have low breast and cervical cancer screening rates compared to other groups of women, and lower cholesterol and blood pressure screening rates than the national average. Native Hawaiian women have high rates of overweight and obesity compared to other women.

About 17 percent of Asian American/Pacific Islanders do not have health insurance, compared to 16 percent of all Americans. Even with health insurance, traditional health methods such as acupuncture and herbal medicines often are not covered by insurance. Asian American women are more likely to report using traditional health practices and medicines than Asian American men.

Speaking little or no English can be a major barrier to getting needed health care. While this language barrier affects all health care, it is of serious concern for Asian American/Pacific Islander women with mental health issues. Nearly one out of two Asian American/Pacific Islanders with mental health disorders will have problems using mental health treatment because they do not speak English or can't find services that meet their language needs. Fear of not being able to communicate, combined with the stigma of mental illness, may keep Asian Americans from getting treatment.

Publications

BPHC Service Delivery Sites: Providing Primary Care to Underserved Populations - This internet site allows users to search a database of health centers offering low-cost health services to underserved populations. Users can search by location and type of service needed.

http://www.ask.hrsa.gov/pc/

Improving Health Care Quality: A Guide for Patients and Families - This research-based guide provides information that consumers need when making decisions about health plans, doctors, treatments, hospitals, and long-term care.

http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/qntlite/

Insure Kids Now! - Insure Kids Now! is a national campaign that links the nation's 10 million uninsured children, from birth to age 18, to free and low-cost health insurance.

http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/

Questions and Answers About Health Insurance: A Consumer Guide - This guide describes different kinds of health insurance plans and answers common questions. There is a glossary of health insurance terms as well as resources for more information.

http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/insuranceqa/

Talking with Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People - This brochure is a guide to helping elderly individuals communicate easily and effectively with their physician about their health.

http://www.niapublications.org/pubs/talking/index.asp

Quality of Health Care for Asian Americans (Copyright © NAAPIMHA) - This publication describes the results of a study done by the Commonwealth Fund that found Asian Americans report a poorer quality of health care than the overall population due to several factors. Those factors included communication difficulties with their physicians, fewer preventative services, less chronic disease care, restricted acces to care, and being uninsured.

http://www.naapimha.org/issues/CommonwealthHealthcare.pdf

Organizations

= Indicates Federal Resources

Current as of December 2007