health

China Daily - BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhaunet) -- Looking good trumps health concerns as cosmetic lenses attract the eyes of the trendy, Todd Balazovic and Wang Wen report

New Studies Show Huge Health Disparities Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Asian Immigrant Populations

Critical Avenues to Prevent Cancer Overlooked; Immigrant Women at High Risk of Death from Breast Cancer
WASHINGTON

VANCOUVER - Vancouver's Chinese community had a defiant message for Winter Olympics organisers when it was suggested they should cancel their longstanding Lunar New Year parade - 'no way in hell'.

The city's 36th annual parade, which will usher in the Year of the Tiger, will go ahead as planned on February 14, two days after the start of the February 12-28 Olympics.

City councilor Kerry Jang said there had initially been suggestions from VANOC, the Olympics organising committee, to either cancel or postpone the parade "over security and other concerns".

"The Chinese community said ‘no way in hell'," said Jang, a third-generation Chinese-Canadian.

"They went to city hall and said ‘forget it, we're having it'. So we had a compromise."

He said he was expecting about 20,000 people or more to attend this year's festivities which will start earlier than usual.

By Professor Hyeouk Chris Hahm

Working with diverse immigrant populations who suffered from various mental health disorders in New York City, Professor Hyeouk Chris Hahm had a first-hand look at health disparities among Asian American communities. As a psychiatric social worker for 10 years, she saw a growing prevalence of young Asian American adults dealing with substance use and sexually transmitted disease (STDs). This led her to question the factors associated with risky health behavior patterns, as well as the protective factors of those behaviors including substance use and HIV/STDs risk behaviors among young Asian Americans.

Company Supports Asian/Pacific Islander Community in Promoting Hep B Awareness

SAN FRANCISCO - Subaru of America is joining the San Francisco Hep B Free campaign as the official vehicle and partner by donating the use of a 2010 Subaru Legacy detailed with full color artwork promoting the campaign theme which calls on everyone to "B a Hero" in preventing liver cancer and the hepatitis B disease.

Hepatitis B causes up to 80 percent of all liver cancers, and disproportionately affects 1 in 10 Asian and Pacific Islanders. A safe and effective vaccine prevents infection and liver cancer caused by hepatitis B. The most important step towards eliminating hepatitis B disease is by bring tested for infection in your doctor's office.

Transcript - REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT AAPI INITIATIVE EXECUTIVE ORDER SIGNING

East Room

3:46 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Well, good afternoon, everybody. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. I'm glad you could join us today as I proudly sign this executive order reestablishing the President's Advisory Commission and White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

Now, when we talk about America's AAPI communities, we're talking about the industry and entrepreneurship of people who've helped build this nation for centuries: from the early days, as laborers on our railroads and farmers tilling our land, to today, as leaders in every sector of American life, from business to science to academia, law and more.

ScienceDaily -  Although Asian-Americans as a group have lower rates of thinking about and attempting suicide than the national average, U.S.-born Asian-American women seem to be particularly at risk for suicidal behavior, according to new University of Washington research.

The study shows 15.93 percent of U.S.-born Asian-American women have contemplated suicide in their lifetime, exceeding national estimates of 13.5 percent for all Americans. The finding comes in a study published in the current issue of the journal Archives of Suicide Research. Lifetime estimates of suicide attempts also were higher among U.S-born Asian-American women than the general population, 6.29 percent vs. 4.6 percent.

USAsianwire - More Than 6,000 Attendees Expected Gala Awards Dinner Will Recognize Top Companies, Business Leaders and High-Profile Individuals For Their Achievements and Contributions to the Asian Community Lead Academic Sponsor is Columbia Business School;  Lead media sponsor is The New York Times; Participating Career Expo Employers Include Booz Allen Hamilton, BP, Monsanto, Federal Reserve, McDonalds, New York Life, Dell, Raytheon, Volkswagon, Moody's Investors Service, Pepsico, State Farm, United Health Group, Among Others

The 2010 APM Calendar with photography by Jeff Sheng is available for sale now on amazon.com keyword 2010 APM
100% of the production profits from the sale of the calendar go to the Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, a non-profit community health center that provides low cost medicine to the working poor and uninsured in over ten, mostly Asian languages.
The calendar features Survivor winner Yul Kwon, filmmaker Edward Gunawan, and actors Daniel Ichikawa and Ji Han.

"This calendar is a great way to increase visibility of Asian American men's bodies in a society that disproportionately focuses on "white" beauty, or Asian American women," said photographer Jeff Sheng. "Not only are we making something that will monetarily benefit an Asian American community health center, but we are hoping to combat the lack and invisibility of string, good-looking Asian male imagery out there in American culture."
 

Asian Week - A night on the town with music, dinner, and friends, a benefit for SF Hep B Free 

Two beautiful up and coming Asian Pacific American female musicians - Odessa Chen and Alice Tong, have joined the San Francisco Hep B Free Campaign to help promote awareness about the impact of the hepatitis b virus (HBV) on Asian Pacific Americans.  The two will be performing at “An Unexpected Encounter: A night on the town filled with music, dinner & friends” on Friday Aug. 21, from 6 to 9pm at Jillians, located at 101 4th St., inside the San Francisco Metreon.