This is a press release issued in response to the WHO report Preventing Chronic Disease: A Vital Investment, published in October 2005.
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The recent World Health Organisation report Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment underscores the importance of chronic disease prevention across the globe. Worldwide, 60% of all deaths are due to chronic diseases. Even though the United States is the richest nation in the world, there are significant health disparities within the country that cause premature death through chronic diseases.
There are approximately 280,000 persons of Hmong nationality in the United States. Originally from the northern mountains of Southeast Asia, many Hmong were resettled to the United States from refugee camps in Thailand after the Vietnam War. This resettlement programme continues today, with the majority of the Hmong living in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and central California. Among Asian ethnic subgroups in the United States, the Hmong rank last in educational attainment and median family income, and have the highest poverty rate, all of which are risk factors for chronic diseases. What little data there are show that the Hmong have higher rates of diabetes, metabolic syndrome (a precursor to diabetes), heart disease, gout and preventable cancers compared with the US population as a whole. Adding to this issue are significant cultural challenges facing the Hmong community and western medicine. In many communities, there are few if any Hmong health-care providers and translators. Even if the Hmong individual speaks English, there is cultural stigma attached to visiting a doctor or undergoing what can be very invasive screening tests (such as a pap smear, mammogram or colonoscopy). Assuming an individual trusts a health care provider enough to make an appointment and visit the doctor, translating the diagnosis, results and other medical issues into Hmong or even simple English can be a formidable task. It is the mission of this research group, with cooperation from the Oxford Health Alliance, to collect disease-incidence data, allocate resources based on the most significant chronic health disparities, and provide culturally appropriate education to Hmong communities and health-care providers on how to prevent chronic diseases.
Websites:
World Health Organisation: www.who.int
Oxford Health Alliance: www.oxha.org
La Crosse County Health Department: http://www.co.la-crosse.wi.us/Health/
Contact information:
Derek Moore, MPH
Epidemiologist
Coulee Region Public Health Consortium
moore.derek@co.la-crosse.wi.us
+ 1 608 785 6287
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Other press releases from CAPCoD projects issued in response to the WHO report can be found here.