Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that as immigrants' length of residence increases, so does their weight. However, little is known about factors associated with weight status among Chinese Americans, one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the US. METHODS: Baseline data from a National Cancer Institute-funded longitudinal study involving a multi-stage probability sample of Chinese Americans residing in two communities in New York City were collected. RESULTS: Chinese Americans had a low BMI (mean = 22.81) and a lower proportion of obese individuals compared with other ethnic groups in the US reported in the literature. While the prevalence of being overweight (21%) and obese (2%) was low, length of residence was positively associated with weight status (P < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Innovative strategies to help Chinese Americans maintain healthy weight status and to prevent them from becoming overweight and obese are needed.

OBJECTIVES: We surveyed the availability of tobacco products and nonprescription nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in pharmacies in New York City, stratified by the race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) of the surrounding neighborhoods to determine whether disparities in availability existed. METHODS: Surveyors visited a random sample of retail pharmacies to record the availability of tobacco products and nonprescription NRT. We used census data and geographic information systems analysis to determine the SES of each neighborhood. We used logistic modeling to explore relations between SES and the availability of NRT and tobacco products. RESULTS: Of 646 pharmacies sampled, 90.8% sold NRT and 46.9% sold cigarettes. NRT and cigarettes were slightly more available in pharmacies in neighborhoods with a higher SES. NRT was more expensive in poorer neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: Small disparities existed in access to nonprescription NRT and cigarettes. The model did not adequately account for cigarette access, because of availability from other retail outlets. These results may explain some of the excess prevalence of cigarette use in low-SES areas.

BACKGROUND: Health status measures are being used in increasingly diverse populations. However, there are no known studies to date that examine the SF-12 in US Chinese populations. This study reports on the performance and validity of the SF-12 among Chinese immigrants residing in New York City, and evaluates the impact of multiple behavioral risk factors on physical and mental health status. METHODS: We used cross-sectional survey data from a multistage probability sample of 2537 Chinese adults. SF-12 scores were examined according to sociodemographic, cultural, and clinical characteristics. Regression analyses were used to examine associations between health status and co-occurring behavioral risk factors of smoking, risky drinking, physical inactivity, and overweight/obesity. RESULTS: SF-12 scores were significantly lower among women, those with less education, lower incomes, and more health problems (P < 0.001). Older adults had worse physical but better mental health (P < 0.05). Individuals with 1, 2, 3, and 4 behavioral risk factors reported decreases of 1.91, 2.92, 4.86, and 9.21 points on the PCS-12, respectively, in comparison with the reference group having zero risk factors (P < 0.01). Similar trends up to 2 co-occurring risks were observed with MCS-12 scores (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The SF-12 exhibited known-groups validity in a US Chinese immigrant population. Co-occurring behavioral risk factors were associated with progressive declines in physical health, independent of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics traditionally associated with impairments in health status. Targeting patients with multiple risks for behavior change may be effective in improving health across diverse populations

BACKGROUND: Fax referral services that connect smokers to state quitlines have been implemented in 49 U.S. states and territories and promoted as a simple solution to improving smoker assistance in medical practice. This study is an in-depth examination of the systems-level changes needed to implement and sustain a fax referral program in primary care. METHODS: The study involved implementation of a fax referral system paired with a chart stamp prompting providers to identify smoking patients, provide advice to quit and refer interested smokers to a state-based fax quitline. Three focus groups (n = 26) and eight key informant interviews were conducted with staff and physicians at two clinics after the intervention. We used the Chronic Care Model as a framework to analyze the data, examining how well the systems changes were implemented and the impact of these changes on care processes, and to develop recommendations for improvement. RESULTS: Physicians and staff described numerous benefits of the fax referral program for providers and patients but pointed out significant barriers to full implementation, including the time-consuming process of referring patients to the Quitline, substantial patient resistance, and limitations in information and care delivery systems for referring and tracking smokers. Respondents identified several strategies for improving integration, including simplification of the referral form, enhanced teamwork, formal assignment of responsibility for referrals, ongoing staff training and patient education. Improvements in Quitline feedback were needed to compensate for clinics' limited internal information systems for tracking smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Establishing sustainable linkages to quitline services in clinical sites requires knowledge of existing patterns of care and tailored organizational changes to ensure new systems are prioritized, easily integrated into current office routines, formally assigned to specific staff members, and supported by internal systems that ensure adequate tracking and follow up of smokers. Ongoing staff training and patient self-management techniques are also needed to ease the introduction of new programs and increase their acceptability to smokers

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effectiveness of a tailored multicomponent community-based smoking cessation intervention among Chinese immigrants living in New York City, implemented within the context of state and city-wide tobacco control policy initiatives for the general population. METHODS: A pre-post-test quasi-experimental design with representative samples from Chinese populations living in two communities in New York City: Flushing, Queens, the intervention community and Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the comparison community. From November 2002 to August 2003 baseline interviews were conducted with 2537 adults aged 18-74. In early 2006, 1384 participants from the original cohort completed the follow-up interview. During the intervention period (October 2003 to September 2005), both communities were exposed to tobacco control public policy changes. However, only Flushing received additional linguistically and culturally-specific community-level tobacco control interventions. RESULTS: From 2002 to 2006 overall smoking prevalence among Chinese immigrants declined from 17.7% to 13.6%, a relative 23% decrease. After controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, there was an absolute 3.3% decrease in smoking prevalence attributed to policy changes with an additional absolute decline in prevalence of 2.8% in the intervention community relative to the control community. CONCLUSION: City-wide tobacco control policies are effective among high-risk urban communities, such as Chinese immigrants. In addition, community-based tailored tobacco control interventions may increase the reduction in smoking prevalence rates beyond that achieved from public policies.

OBJECTIVES: Tobacco taxes are one of the most effective policy interventions to reduce tobacco use. Tax avoidance, however, lessens the public health benefits of higher-priced cigarettes. Few studies examine responses to cigarette tax policies, particularly among high-risk minority populations. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of tax avoidance and changes in smoking behaviors among Chinese American smokers in New York City after a large tax increase. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with data for 614 male smokers from in-person and telephone interviews using a comprehensive household-based survey of 2,537 adults aged 18-74 years. Interviews were conducted in multiple Chinese dialects. RESULTS: A total of 54.7% of respondents reported engaging in at least one low- or no-tax strategy after the New York City and New York State tax increases. The more common strategies for tax avoidance were purchasing cigarettes from a private supplier/importer and purchasing duty free/overseas. Higher consumption, younger age, and number of years in the U.S. were consistently associated with engaging in tax avoidance. Younger and heavier continuing smokers were less likely to make a change in smoking behavior in response to the tax increase. Despite high levels of tax avoidance and varying prices, nearly half of continuing smokers made a positive change in smoking behavior after the tax increase. CONCLUSIONS: Expanded legislation and enforcement must be directed toward minimizing the availability of legal and illegal low- or no-tax cigarette outlets. Public education and cessation assistance customized for the Chinese American community is key to maximizing the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies in this population.

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between household smoking restrictions and smoking patterns among Chinese American adults. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional analysis based on a National Institutes of Health-funded population-based household and telephone survey of 2537 Chinese American adults. SETTING: Two communities in New York City. SUBJECTS: The analyses focused on male current smokers (N = 600). MEASURES: Demographic characteristics, smoking status, household smoking restrictions, cigarettes smoked per day, and past quit attempts were based on self-reported data. RESULTS: Among current smokers, 37% reported living in a home with a complete smoking ban. Smokers with a full household smoking ban smoked fewer cigarettes on weekdays and weekends than smokers with no household smoking ban (p < or = .05) and were 3.4 times (p < .01) more likely to report having at least one quit attempt in the past 12 months. Smokers with knowledge of the dangers of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure were 2.8 times (p < or = .01) more likely to have at least one quit attempt in the last 12 months compared with those who were unaware of the danger of ETS and more likely to live in a smoke-free household. CONCLUSIONS: Smoke-free home policies and interventions to raise awareness among smokers of the dangers of ETS have the potential to significantly reduce tobacco use and exposure to household ETS among this immigrant population.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the mechanisms by which living in a disadvantaged minority community influences smoking and illegal cigarette sale and purchasing behaviors after a large cigarette tax increase. METHODS: Data were collected from 14 focus groups (n=104) that were conducted during the spring of 2003 among Blacks aged 18 years and older living in New York City. RESULTS: A large tax increase led to what focus group participants described as a pervasive illegal cigarette market in a low-income minority community. Perceived pro-smoking community norms, a stressful social and economic environment, and the availability of illegal cigarettes worked together to reinforce smoking and undermine cessation. CONCLUSIONS: Although interest in quitting was high, bootleggers created an environment in which reduced-price cigarettes were easier to access than cessation services. This activity continues to undermine the public health goals of the tax increase.

Households and workplaces are the predominant location for exposure to secondhand smoke. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between health status and smoking restrictions at home and work and to compare the relative effect of household and workplace smoking restrictions on health status. This study uses data from a cross sectional representative probability sample of 2,537 Chinese American adults aged 18-74 living in New York City. The analysis was limited to 1,472 respondents who work indoors for wages. Forty-three percent of respondents reported a total smoking ban at home and the workplace, 20% at work only, 22% home only, and 15% reported no smoking restriction at home or work. Nonsmokers [corrected] who live under a total household smoking ban only or both a total household and total workplace ban were respectively 1.90 and 2.61 times more likely to report better health status compared with those who reported no smoking ban at work or home. Before the NYC Clean Indoor Air Act second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure among this immigrant Chinese population at home and work was high. This study finds that household smoking restrictions are more strongly associated with better health status than workplace smoking restrictions. However, better health status was most strongly associated with both a ban at work and home. Public health efforts should include a focus on promoting total household smoking bans to reduce the well-documented health risks of SHS exposure.