Medicine
Center for Asian Health Research and Education Center for Asian Health Research and Education

CARE Research Programs

The Asian population in the United States nearly doubled between 2000 and 2019 and is projected to surpass 46 million by 2060. However, Asians are underrepresented in clinical trials, which leads to huge disparities in health outcomes and indicators among Asian population. CARE seeks to transform the health of Asian communities by increasing knowledge, empowering education, and positively impacting clinical care.

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Cultural Adaptations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Chinese Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults

Purpose: The primary goal of this study is to enhance CBT for autistic Chinese Americans through Community-Based Participatory Research.

First, we will form a 20-people working group to generate knowledge on cultural adaptation of CBT for autistic individuals. The working group will include:

  • Approx. 4 Chinese-focused community mental health providers
  • Approx. 4 CBT therapist (at least 3 years of experience)
  • Approx. 7 autistic individuals, including 3-4 adolescents (age 13-21) and 3-4 young adults (21-25)
  • Approx. 5 family members of autistic individuals

Then, we will apply that knowledge in developing a specialized training curriculum for CBT practitioners.  The focus will be on equipping them with the necessary knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to effectively work with Chinese American autistic adolescents and young adults.

Learn more on the study’s website.

ABCs for Global Health: COVID-19 in the Philippines

ABC’s for Global Health is a non-profit organization by Dr. Gabiola that is dedicated to finding practical solutions to health problems of disadvantaged and underserved communities. The organization aims to provide access to continuous quality healthcare through medical mobile clinic outreach, promotion of community health education, and implementation of technology such as telehealth with a focus in the Philippines and the Filipino community. As part of the initiative to educate the community and increase awareness and access to healthcare, ABC’s for Global Health will create white papers such as topics on hypertension, create emergency medical material, write papers on medical mobile clinics and telemedicine in the Philippines, focus on telemedicine devices and commercialization, and advocate for implementation of a medical mobile clinic in Silicon Valley.

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Characterizing Bone Mineral Density in People with Normal Weight Type 2 Diabetes

Normal weight type 2 diabetes impacts Asian Americans, particularly those of South Asians, Filipino, and Chinese origins, at higher rates1-3. Previous studies have focused on the characteristics of obese type 2 diabetes. The aim of this project is to describe the different characteristics of bone between persons with and without normal weight type 2 diabetes. Measures will include a comparison of bone mineral density using DXA and CT scans. Completion of this analysis will help fill a gap in baseline understanding of normal weight type 2 diabetes and better describe the characteristics for at risk populations.

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References

  1. Diabetes in Normal-Weight Individuals: High Susceptibility in Nonwhite Populations
  2. Ethnic difference in the prevalence of diabetes in the underweight and normal weight individuals: The CARRS and NHANES studies 
  3. Type 2 diabetes: Identifying high risk Asian American subgroups in a clinical population 

Project COAVE – COVID Asian Vaccine Efficacy Study

The goal of COAVE is to study the effectiveness of COVID vaccines for Asian-Americans and subgroups for equitable, personalized precision medicine for Asian-Americans. We will acquire and analyze COVID vaccine data by Asian Americans and subgroups to understand potential disparities, with the goal of better health outcomes in diverse groups.

Project DAsH – Data on Asian

The goal of DAsH is to bring together diverse datasets to understand complex health issues and find solutions for precision health for Asians. We will acquire rich and diverse national and international data with opportunities for potential linkage, recruitment, and long-term follow-up for transdisciplinary research across many health outcomes.

Multilingual Health Service Information Guide for Bay-Area AANHPI

Stanford’s Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) and CARE are two organizations committed to advocating for improved access to healthcare for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. Stanford medical students in APAMSA, Ji Hae Lee and Jacqueline Yao, are working with Stanford CARE faculty member, Dr. Jison Hong, to assess AANPHI health and healthcare access in the Bay Area, with a focus on language barriers. 

The Bay Area has long been home to a large, fast-growing, and diverse community of AANHPI native-born residents and immigrants. One in five (Bay Area) API households are linguistically isolated, meaning that no member aged 14 and above speaks English “very well.” Additionally, the uninsured rate is higher than the state average in certain AANHPI groups, such as the Korean community (15%), new immigrants (11.6%), and those with limited English proficiency (17.8%). The high prevalence of linguistic isolation and lack of health insurance suggests that many AANHPI community members in the Bay Area face challenges accessing health care. This project seeks to support medical care access with a comprehensive list of free/low-cost clinics offering interpretive services in AANHPI languages in the Bay Area (San Francisco and Santa Clara counties).

Please find their community flyers, in a variety of languages available here (English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese)

Free and Federally Qualified Health Clinics

Project Legacy

Social determinants of health have an ever-increasing body of evidence for their impact on our health. Social data, however, is notoriously difficult to capture in the traditional medical record. The aim of Project LEGACY is to create a database that combines the social data found in obituaries with traditional medical data sources like electronic health records and insurance data. Creation of this database can provide a more personalized and holistic view of a person’s lived experience and sets the stage for future analyses.

Learn more about Social Determinants of Health

STRONG-D

The STRONG D clinical trials tested whether strength training, aerobic training, or a combination of the two may help control blood sugar in people with normal weight type 2 diabetes1. In addition to changes in blood sugar, there may also be changes in bone composition after training. The aim of this project is to quantify differences in bone mineral density between each of the training treatments used. This is especially important as normal weight type 2 diabetes impacts ethnic minorities and Asian Americans at higher rates1-4. More detailed information about bone health during these treatment programs can give a broader view of strengths and weaknesses of each training program.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of fat levels in an individual’s body. For the general population this calculation is a good estimate. However, this calculation can be inaccurate for pregnant women and athletes.

While a BMI less than 26 kg/m2 is generally considered normal, for Asian populations the cutoff is 23 kg/m2. This is because Asians have a higher number of diabetes diagnoses at lower BMI levels. 

Check out the CDC's BMI Calculator

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References

  1. STRONG-D Clinical Trial
  2. Diabetes in Normal-Weight Individuals: High Susceptibility in Nonwhite Populations
  3. Ethnic difference in the prevalence of diabetes in the underweight and normal weight individuals: The CARRS and NHANES studies
  4. Type 2 diabetes: Identifying high risk Asian American subgroups in a clinical population 

Arogya World

70 million people living with diabetes in India and diabetes kills 1 million Indians each year.  Arogya World is a health nonprofit in India focused on preventing non-communicable diseases, specifically diabetes, along with heart disease, cancer, and chronic lung disease. Arogya has identified behavior change to be the most challenging obstacle in improving overall health in India. A large aspect of the nonprofit is their school-based programs that aim to educate students on healthy diet and lifestyle choices. The school-based programs consist of a two-year intervention where students learn about chronic diseases such as diabetes, and a healthy lifestyle through diet and physical exercise. The main goal of this study include:

  1. measuring the effectiveness of Arogya’s World intervention by analyzing data recorded from each partner over the last four years
  2. identifying potential barriers, the non-profit may face and brainstorm potential areas of improvement.
  3. A call to action – To help support Arogya World and other health non-profits working to tackle issues of non-communicable diseases it is necessary to increase awareness on how developing countries are effective by this global health burden.

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Healthy schools

Text Message Intervention Program

One of the leading causes of death in the Philippines is cardiovascular disease, with stroke as the second cause of morality. In addition, there is an increasing prevalence of hypertension among both Filipino and Filipino-Americans. Hypertension is the primary risk factor for CVD. Despite pharmacological advancements, management of hypertension is still an issue existing in many patients. The aim of this study is to utilize mobile technology of Short Messaging Service (SMS) as a lifestyle intervention for improving hypertension management and blood pressure outcomes in low and middle income countries (LMIC). SMS intervention serves as a low-cost and efficient tool that has shown in previous studies increases treatment adherence, symptom monitoring, and follow-up appointments. This study will allow for evaluation of clinical effectiveness of SMS in influencing lifestyle behavior and controlling blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

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