Project Description: MAAHS carried out a health needs assessment in 13 Asian American communities (Asian Indian, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Pakistani, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese) in Montgomery County, Maryland in 2007. Through 19 focus groups, we were able to identify the most pressing health needs and barriers to health care access in these communities, and were able to come up with recommendations for action. This study was funded by the Asian American Health Initiative (Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County, Maryland), and was completed with close partnerships with the above mentioned communities. Detailed reports are available below.

Reports (click here to review)

  Project Description : Our team performed four focus groups   (Asian Indian, Chinese, Korean, and   Vietnamese to   explore   cultural, psychosocial, and   environmental factors   that   influence smoking in Asian Americans living in Maryland.This was part of a main study that examines smoking behaviors of minority populations, funded by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (PI: Dr. Olivia Carter-Pokras). During our focus groups we inquired about the participants’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to smoking, cultural and environmental influences on smoking, barriers for smoking cessation, and recommendations for smoking cessation/prevention program development. The paper from this project is under review now.