Faculty Bibliography

To assess colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among South Asians (SAs) and explore the challenges and facilitators to CRC screening among SA subgroups in New York City (NYC). Fifty-one semi-structured in-depth interviews and surveys were conducted among SA immigrants in NYC. Qualitative results suggested challenges to CRC screening were related to socio-cultural factors, such as a lack of knowledge on CRC and CRC screening, and structural factors, such as cost and language. A physician referral was the most cited facilitator to CRC screening. Participants reported culturally and linguistically adapted education and information on CRC and CRC screening would help to overcome noted challenges. Our findings support the development of targeted, linguistically and culturally adapted campaigns for this population that facilitate access to health systems and leverage natural community assets and social support systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous barriers to the implementation of participant-facing research. For most, the pandemic required rapid transitioning to all virtual platforms. During this pandemic, the most vulnerable populations are at highest risk of falling through the cracks of engagement in clinical care and research. Nonetheless, we argue that we should reframe the discussion to consider how this transition may create opportunities to engage extensively to reach populations. Here, we present our experience in Atlanta (Georgia, United States) in transitioning a group visit model for South Asian immigrants to a virtual platform and the pivotal role community members in the form of community health workers can play in building capacity among participants. We provide details on how this model helped address common barriers to group visit models in clinical practice and how our community health worker team innovatively addressed the digital challenges of working with an elderly population with limited English proficiency.

Evidence-based strategies addressing comorbid hypertension and diabetes are needed among minority communities. We analyzed the outcome of blood pressure (BP) control using pooled data from two community health worker interventions in New York City conducted between 2011 and 2019, focusing on participants with comorbid hypertension and diabetes. The adjusted odds of controlled BP (< 140/90 mmHg) for the treatment group were significant compared with the control group (odds ratio = 1.4; 95% confidence interval = 1.1, 1.8). The interventions demonstrated clinically meaningful reductions in BP among participants with comorbid hypertension and diabetes.

BACKGROUND:Community health workers (CHWs) have been identified as effective members of health care teams in improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities, especially among racial and ethnic minorities. There is a growing interest in integrating CHWs into clinical settings using health informatics-based strategies to help provide coordinated patient care and foster health-promoting behaviors. OBJECTIVE:In this scoping review, we outline health informatics-based strategies for CHW-provider communication that aim to improve integration of CHWs into clinical settings. DESIGN/METHODS:A scoping review was conducted. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA/UNASSIGNED:US-based sources between 2013 and 2018 were eligible. STUDY SELECTION/METHODS:Literature was identified through PubMed and Google queries and hand searching key reference lists. Articles were screened by title, abstract, and then full-text. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/METHODS:Health informatics-based strategies for CHW-provider communication and their impacts on patient care were documented and analyzed. RESULTS:Thirty-one articles discussed health informatics-based strategies for CHW-provider communication and/or integration of CHWs into clinical settings. These strategies include direct CHW documentation of patient encounters in electronic health records (EHRs) and other Web-based applications. The technologies were used to document patient encounters and patient barriers to health care providers but were additionally used for secure messaging and referral systems. These strategies were found to meet the needs of providers and CHWs while facilitating CHW-provider communication, CHW integration, and coordinated care. CONCLUSIONS:Health informatics-based strategies for CHW-provider communication are important for facilitating CHW integration and potentially improving patient outcomes and improving disparities among minority populations. This integration can support the development of future disease prevention programs and health care policies in which CHWs are an established part of the public health workforce. However, further investigation must be done on overcoming implementation challenges (eg, lack of time or funding), especially in smaller resource-challenged community-based clinics that serve minority patients.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Immigrant adults tend to have better health than native-born adults despite lower incomes, but the health advantage decreases with length of residence. To determine whether immigrant adults have a health advantage over US-born adults in New York City, we compared cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among both groups. METHODS:Using data from the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014, we assessed health insurance coverage, health behaviors, and health conditions, comparing adults ages ≥20 born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia (US-born) with adults born in a US territory or outside the United States (immigrants, following the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) and comparing US-born adults with (1) adults who immigrated recently (≤10 years) and (2) adults who immigrated earlier (>10 years). RESULTS:< .05). Comparable proportions of immigrant adults and US-born adults were overweight or obese (67% vs 63%) and reported CVD (both 7%). Immigrant adults who arrived recently were less likely than immigrant adults who arrived earlier to have diabetes or high cholesterol but did not differ overall from US-born adults. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings may help guide prevention programs and policy efforts to ensure that immigrant adults remain healthy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:In this study we aim to estimate the change in metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevalence among New York City (NYC) adults between 2004 and 2013-2014 and identify key subgroups at risk. METHODS:We analyzed data from NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. MetS was defined as having at least three of the following: abdominal obesity, low HDL, elevated triglycerides, glucose dysregulation, and elevated blood pressure. We calculated age-standardized MetS prevalence, change in prevalence over time, and prevalence ratios by gender and race/ethnicity groups. We also tested for additive interaction. RESULTS:In 2013-2014 MetS prevalence among NYC adults was 24.4% (95% CI, 21.4-27.6). Adults 65+ years and Asian adults had the highest prevalence (45.6% and 33.8%, respectively). Abdominal obesity was the most prevalent MetS component in 2004 and 2013-2014 (50.7% each time). Between 2004 and 2013-2014, MetS decreased by 18.2% (P = .04) among women. The decrease paralleled similar declines in elevated triglycerides and glucose dysregulation. In 2013-14, non-Latino Black women had higher risk of MetS than non-Latino Black men and non-Latino White adults. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Age and racial/ethnic disparities in MetS prevalence in NYC were persistent from 2004 to 2013-2014, with Asian adults and non-Latino Black women at particularly high risk.

Diabetes and hypertension are socially patterned by individual race/ethnicity and by neighborhood economic context, but distributions among Asian subgroups are undercharacterized. We examined variation in prevalence for both conditions, comparing between US Asian subgroups, including within South Asian nationalities, and comparing within subgroups by neighborhood economic context. We obtained data on a non-probability sample of 633,664 patients ages 18-64 in New York City, NY, USA (2014-2017); 30,138 belonged to one of seven Asian subgroups (Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Filipino). We used electronic health records to classify disease status. We characterized census tract economic context using the Index of Concentration at the Extremes and estimated prevalence differences using multilevel models. Among Asian men, hypertension prevalence was highest for Filipinos. Among Asian women, hypertension prevalence was highest for Filipinas and Bangladeshis. Diabetes prevalence was highest among Pakistanis and Bangladeshis of both genders, exceeding all other Asian and non-Asian groups. There was consistent evidence of an economic gradient for both conditions, whereby persons residing in the most privileged neighborhood tertile had the lowest disease prevalence. The economic gradient was particularly strong for diabetes among Pakistanis, whose prevalence in the most deprived tertile exceeded that of the most privileged by 9 percentage points (95% CI 3, 14). Only Koreans departed from the trend, experiencing the highest diabetes prevalence in the most privileged tertile. US Asian subgroups largely demonstrate similar neighborhood economic gradients as other groups. Disaggregating Asian subgroups, including within South Asian nationalities, reveals important heterogeneity in prevalence.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW:To outline intervention efforts focused on reducing hypertension disparities in immigrant communities in the U.S. and to identify areas in the design, implementation, and evaluation of these interventions that warrant further exploration guided by an implementation science framework. RECENT FINDINGS:Studies examined (n = 11) included immigrant populations of African, Hispanic, and Asian origin. Men were underrepresented in most studies. Culturally tailored group-based educational sessions in religious or community spaces were common. Intervention agents included research assistants, registered nurses, community health workers, and faith-based organization volunteers. Community stakeholders were engaged in most studies, although most commonly for recruitment efforts. Surveys/interviews were used for intervention evaluation, and documentation of intervention activities and trainings was used to assess fidelity. Identified pathways for further intervention innovation included gender or migration-status-based targeting, diversifying intervention agents, enhancing mixed-method process evaluations, and tailoring to emerging needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.