Americans In California Research Articles

Abstract B177: Association between ethnicity and ovarian cancer tumor characteristics in Asian Americans in California

Abstract Background: Ovarian cancer is often associated with poor survival given that most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages when treatment is less effective. The disease is also very heterogeneous, consisting of various histologic subtypes that each have distinct epidemiologic and pathologic profiles. Given that some studies have noted ethnic-specific disparities in ovarian cancer survival when the Asian American population is disaggregated and certain tumor characteristics are associated with more favorable outcomes, we examined the relationship between Asian ethnic subgroup and ovarian cancer disease presentation. Methods: We included a total of 31,230 non-Hispanic White and Asian/Pacific Islander ovarian cancer cases diagnosed between 1996 and 2020 from the California Cancer Registry. Multivariable logistic regression with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used to examine the likelihood of being diagnosed with tumors of a certain stage, grade, and histologic subtype, for each Asian ethnic subgroup compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were considered in the analyses. Results: Most, but not all, Asian ethnic subgroups were less likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage ovarian cancer and more likely to be diagnosed with clear cell ovarian cancer compared to non-Hispanic Whites. For South East Asians, the odds of having advanced stage tumors were 43% lower than non-Hispanic Whites (OR=0.57, 95% CI 0.41-0.79) and the odds of having clear cell tumors were almost 200% higher than non-Hispanic Whites (OR=2.97, 95% CI 1.92-4.61); only South Asians did not show lower odds of an advanced stage tumor diagnosis (OR=1.06, 95% CI 0.86-1.29) and higher odds of a clear cell tumor diagnosis (OR=0.93, 95% CI 0.63-1.37). Conclusion: There are clear differences in ovarian cancer disease presentation when each Asian ethnic subgroup is examined separately with South Asians constituting the only subgroup who did not show a lower likelihood of an advanced stage diagnosis and a higher likelihood of a clear cell diagnosis when compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Given that tumor stage and histologic subtype are considered important prognostic factors for ovarian cancer, identifying the underlying factors that may contribute to being diagnosed with certain tumor characteristics could provide clues to help us improve the survival of this highly fatal malignancy. Citation Format: Alice W. Lee, Jenny Chang, Sannia Siddiqui, Argyrios Ziogas, Robert E. Bristow. Association between ethnicity and ovarian cancer tumor characteristics in Asian Americans in California [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B177.

Estimating dementia incidence in insured older Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California: an application of inverse odds of selection weights.

Literature shows heterogeneous age-standardized dementia incidence rates across US Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), but no estimates of population-representative dementia incidence exist due to lack of AANHPI longitudinal probability samples. We compared harmonized characteristics between AANHPI Kaiser Permanente Northern California members (KPNC cohort) and the target population of AANHPI 60+ with private or Medicare insurance using the California Health Interview Survey. We used stabilized inverse odds of selection weights (sIOSW) to estimate ethnicity-specific crude and age-standardized dementia incidence rates and cumulative risk by age 90 in the target population. Differences between the KPNC cohort and target population varied by ethnicity. sIOSW eliminated most differences in larger ethnic groups; some differences remained in smaller groups. Estimated crude dementia incidence rates using sIOSW (versus unweighted) were similar in Chinese, Filipinos, Pacific Islanders and Vietnamese, and higher in Japanese, Koreans, and South Asians. Unweighted and weighted age-standardized incidence rates differed for South Asians. Unweighted and weighted cumulative risk were similar for all groups. We estimated the first population-representative dementia incidence rates and cumulative risk in AANHPI ethnic groups. We encountered some estimation problems and weighted estimates were imprecise, highlighting challenges using weighting to extend inferences to target populations.

Community-Identified Implementation Strategies for Promoting the Adoption of HIV Self-Testing in a Southern California American Indian community: A Rapid Qualitative Analysis

HIV incidence increased by 18% between 2015 and 2019 among American Indians (AIs) despite declining rates in other racial/ethnic groups. Culturally-appropriate implementation of prevention programs is needed to address the intersectional conditions contributing to HIV vulnerabilities experienced by AIs. The objectives of this study were to understand factors influencing HIV testing decisions and identify implementation strategies to promote the acceptability of HIV self-testing (HIVST) in a southern California AI community. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews were completed with adult community members of a southern California AI reservation. Analysis used a rapid analytic approach that was guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework and expert recommendations for implementing change (ERIC) compilation. Two team members applied a standardized summary template to elucidate implementation determinants and implementation strategies for adopting HIVST. Barriers to HIV testing identified by community members included HIV-related stigma and privacy concerns within their community. Community members expressed positive perceptions of the acceptability of HIVST, with many identifying ease of use and privacy as appealing attributes. Several implementation strategies were suggested for facilitating the adoption of HIVST, including increasing access to tests by mailing kits to community members and increasing demand for kits through media campaigns (e.g., local flyers, social media posts, and booths at tribal events). Community members also recommended discreet packaging of kits and cultural adaptation of accompanying materials (e.g., educational videos featuring community members). The qualitative input from AI community members facilitated identification of implementation strategies that may promote the acceptability and culturally-appropriateness of HIVST.

The California Rancheria Termination Act of 1958: The Continuous Assertion of Tribal Governments for Self-Determination

Throughout the history of the United States, the relationship with its original inhabitants has been marked by inequity, persisting from its inception in 1776. This qualitative case study delves into the enduring repercussions of the Rancheria Termination Act of 1958 on California's American Indian communities. Guided by a transformative axiological assumption rooted in respect, beneficence, and justice, this research seeks to shed light on this act's profound and lasting impacts. The California Rancheria Termination Act of 1958 (Rancheria Act) represents a joint effort by the United States government and the State of California to circumvent federal treaty responsibilities and transfer portions of tribal lands to the state. The findings of this study reveal that the Rancheria Act (1958) set tribal governments back by over 650 years. With an average of 17 years of non-existence before restoration, the 41 tribal governments affected by inequitable and racist policies continue to wage a resilient battle to reclaim their identity. In defiance of the federal government's actions, tribal governments persist in their struggle to safeguard their culture, language, spiritual practices, societal contributions, and indigenous identity. These were once threatened by the classification of terminated rancheria inhabitants as non-Indian Indians. The study has uncovered a compelling need for further research into the holistic impact of the Rancheria Act. Such research can provide the foundation for developing initiatives that empower American Indians and tribal governments to exercise their right to self-determination. These initiatives can also foster community reconciliation, addressing historical injustices impacting present issues.

The Culture is Prevention Project: measuring cultural connectedness and providing evidence that culture is a social determinant of health for Native Americans

BackgroundIt is important for non-Native persons to understand that the meaning of culture to Native American/Indigenous Peoples is not about esteem, taste or music but rather is described as a cognitive map on how to be. Native American/Indigenous culture can be thought of as all the things and ways in which Native/Indigenous people understand who they are, where they come from and how they are to interact with others. Hundreds of years across many generations have taught that culture-based activities and interventions improve Native/Indigenous health and wellbeing. We explore if increased Native American culture/cultural connectedness is associated with better mental health/well-being and physical health.MethodsWe analyzed data from a two-phased study (N = 259 and N = 102) of 361 urban Native Americans in California (2018–2021). The 29 items validated Cultural Connectedness Scale-California (CCS-CA) measured Native culture/cultural connectedness. Mental health/well-being and physical health were assessed using the: modified Herth Hope Index (mHHI), Satisfaction with Life (SWL), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R-10), Substance Abuse (CAGE-AID), and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). We conducted Pearson correlations and stepwise regression analyses with CCS-CA as the independent (predictor) variable to explore our main research questions: 1) Is increased Native American/Indigenous culture associated with: 1) better mental health/well-being; and 2) better physical health?ResultsIncreased Native/Indigenous culture (CCS-CA scores) is significantly associated with better mental health/well-being (mHHI, p < .001) and satisfaction with life (SWL, p < .001) predicts good physical health days (HRQOL, p < .001). Increased connection to Native American/Indigenous culture (CCS-CA scores) is significantly associated with decreased risk for depression (CESD-R-10, p < .0) and substance abuse and (CAGE-AID, p < .07). Significant results for culture as protective against risk for substance abuse (CAGE-AID) was most likely affected (p value approaching significance) due to an error in language on the measure (i.e., created double negative).ConclusionsNative American/Indigenous culture is a predictor of improved outcomes for mental health/well-being and physical healthy days. Native culture is an important social determinant of health. We add to the evidence that Native/Indigenous culture (i.e., cultural connectedness) be considered an important intervention objective and health-related outcome measure.

A comparative study of English vowel shifts and vowel space area among Korean Americans in three dialect regions

AbstractRecent sociophonetic research has focused on the ways in which race and ethnicity influence language as well as how language is used to construct racial and ethnic identity. Comparisons of the speech of members of one ethnic group across different regions are still uncommon. In this study, fifty-one native American English speakers of Korean descent, hailing from three different dialect areas of the United States (Los Angeles County and Orange County, California; Harris County, Texas; and Gwinnett County, Georgia), were recorded speaking English in casual interviews. Their speech was analyzed for characteristics of local sound patterns in each region, including the Short Front Vowel Shift (California Vowel Shift) and the Southern Vowel Shift, as well as overall Vowel Space Area. All three groups showed evidence of the Short Front Vowel Shift, and none demonstrated the Southern Vowel Shift. The Californian speakers had the smallest vowel spaces, while the Georgian speakers had the largest. We relate these findings to the ways Korean Americans in Texas and California understand their ethnic identity vis-à-vis a kind of metropolitan or urban speech style in a highly multicultural environment, while, in comparison, Korean Americans in Georgia may use vowel space to highlight their orientation toward or away from local mainstream (white) cultural identity.

Social Influence of E-cigarette Use among Asian Americans in California

Objectives: The use of e-cigarettes is on the rise in the United States (US). An understudied facet of e-cigarette use is the influence of social groups. The purpose of the present article is to examine the role of social groups in the use of e-cigarettes among Asian Americans. Methods: We conducted 12 semi-structured interviews of Asian Americans who use e-cigarettes living in California. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Findings showed that e-cigarette use is normalized and encouraged among peer groups and social gatherings, anecdotal success stories of their peers who were able to quit or reduce their use of combustible cigarettes using e-cigarettes were motivating, and vape shops provided a space for socialization and belonging. Conclusions: The findings illuminate that e-cigarette use is a mediator in Asian American social groups as an activity for collectivity and connection. Public health researchers and practitioners can address nicotine use or addiction among Asian Americans through group or peer targeted prevention and intervention strategies.

Enslaved in a Free Country: Legalized Exploitation of Native Americans and African Americans in Early California and the Post-Emancipation South

In 1850, California joined the United States as a free state. However, one of its first laws, the 1850 Law for the Government and Protection of Indians, legalized the enslavement of California Indians. Drawing comparisons between early Californian and Southern statutes that maintained racialized political economies, we argue that the institutionalized oppression perpetrated against Native Americans in California bears important legal similarities to that perpetrated against African Americans in the South, both before and after Reconstruction. This similarity is not a coincidence; the presence of both African and Native American populations in Southern legislation, the movement of Southerners to the West to participate in California’s development, the regional history of Mexican and Spanish systems of Indigenous enslavement, and a political economy reliant on racialized underpaid or unpaid labor, all created the conditions for California to legally retain de facto systems of slavery in a context of de jure freedom.

West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire by Kevin Waite

Reviewed by: West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire by Kevin Waite Karl Jacoby (bio) Transcontinental railroad, Slavery, Southern history, Western history West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire. By Kevin Waite. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2021. Pp. 372. Paper, $29.95.) It has long been axiomatic that the victory of the United States in the U.S.-Mexico War of 1846–48 catalyzed the Civil War less than a decade and a half later. As no other than Ulysses S. Grant remarked in 1885, "The Southern rebellion was largely the outgrowth of the Mexican War." In West of Slavery, Kevin Waite offers a detailed account of what rendered the seizure of new territories from Mexico so inflammatory. His answer hinges on a multi-layered excavation of how white advocates of enslavement in the mid-nineteenth century imagined incorporating the new territories of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and California into a vast slave system that Waite dubs the "Continental South." Even though the traditional crops of the Slave South—cotton, sugar, and tobacco—were not well suited to the arid lands of the Far West, proslavery southerners, Waite shows, still imagined these new territories as integral to enslavement's future in the United States. One of the initial efforts to knit together the West and South was through the construction of what some white southerners took to calling "the great slavery road": a railroad linking the cotton-growing states of the South with the United States's newly acquired ports on the Pacific Coast [End Page 316] and, from there, to the burgeoning markets of Asia. Waite's well-crafted discussion of white southerners' advocacy for a southern route for the transcontinental railroad in turn illuminates the larger stakes of his project, especially in relation to current historiographical debates over slavery and capitalism. White southerners may have embraced the railroad, their era's leading symbol of modernity, enlisted the power of the federal government in an effort to make their vision a reality, and shown themselves susceptible to the same profit motive and market forces as capitalists elsewhere. But they did so in the service of a political economy that remained resolutely regional and defined in opposition to what white southerners imagined to be the prevailing conditions in the North. Western expansion, according to Waite, only exacerbated these tensions by providing new stakes over which to struggle. The transcontinental railroad, of course, would have to wait until the 1860s to become a reality. When it did, the exigencies of the Civil War ensured that the rail line bypassed the southern route favored by proslavery advocates. But throughout the antebellum period, transplanted white southerners proved remarkably adept at shaping local politics in the Far West. Although California was nominally a free state, white southerners succeeded in bringing about in 1852 the passage of a Fugitive Slave Act that stipulated that any enslaved African American brought to the West Coast before California statehood remained enslaved, so long as their enslavers ultimately planned to remove them out of the state at some later date. When African Americans challenged this law, the California Supreme Court ruled against them in a decision that, Waite notes, "prefigured the Dred Scott decision of 1857 by sustaining slaveholders' rights to carry their human property across free soil without risk" (99). In New Mexico, transplanted southern whites managed to pass laws protecting the enslavement of African Americans that were every bit the equal of slave codes in the states of the Deep South. Other white southerners readily transitioned to keeping Indigenous people in bondage, such as the Tennessee-born Cave Couts, who worked his extensive holdings in Southern California with a force of Indian debt peons, indentured apprentices, and convict laborers—all forms of unfree Native labor legal in California in the 1850s. Couts and other elite white southerners emerge as the primary actors of Waite's narrative. One gets occasional glimpses of enslaved African Americans in California sending back money to their family members still in bondage in the South or of Black Californians hosting "Colored [End Page 317] Conventions." But the "Continental South" discussed in West of...

Precipitation Estimates and Orographic Gradients Using Snow, Temperature, and Humidity Measurements From a Wireless‐Sensor Network

AbstractThis study reports on a blending approach using snowpack measurements from a wireless‐sensor network, gauge precipitation, and atmospheric‐moisture data to estimate mountain precipitation amount and phase. We applied the approach in California's American River basin, using dense measurements from a network consisting of over 130 sensor nodes distributed across the upper, more snow‐dominated part of the basin (≥1,500 m elevation). Analysis of 60 precipitation events in water years 2014–2017 showed that the approach provides estimates of precipitation and orographic enhancement that reduce uncertainty from apparent snow undercatch by limited gauges. This approach also infers total precipitation based on snow measurements during rain‐on‐snow events. The sensor network and blending approach yielded median upper‐basin orographic precipitation gradients (OPGs) of 0.57 km−1, smaller than the also‐positive lower‐basin (&lt;1,500 m) medians OPGs from precipitation gauges and a gauge‐based gridded data set of 1.23 and 1.00 km−1, respectively. However, during 73% of the events, both gauges and the gridded product showed negative OPGs in the upper basin, inconsistent with typically positive values from the distributed sensor network. Upper‐basin OPGs from gauges and the gridded product were more negative (p‐values &lt; 0.03) during heavy events related to atmospheric rivers and Sierra barrier jets than during milder events, revealing the challenges for gauges to reliably measure precipitation from large moisture transport by strong winds. In snow‐dominated headwater areas, precipitation from the blending approach is recommended as being more accurate for decision support, providing critical rain‐versus‐snow amounts and complementing precipitation‐gauge data.

Celebrating 100 Years of California History

Celebrating 100 Years of <i>California History</i>

The Effect of Ethnicity on Identification of Korean American Speech

Research on ethnic varieties of American English has found that listeners can identify speaker ethnicity from voice alone at above-chance rates. This study aims to extend this research by focusing on the perception of race and ethnicity in the voices of ethnically Korean speakers of English. Bilingual Korean Americans in California provided samples of English speech that were rated by 105 listeners. Listeners rated the speakers on their likelihood of being a certain race or ethnicity (including Asian and White). Listeners who were Korean themselves rated the speakers as more likely to be Asian and Korean, whereas non-Asian listeners rated the speakers as more likely to be White. Non-Asian listeners also demonstrated a negative correlation between rating a voice as Asian and rating a voice as belonging to a native-born American, while Asian listeners did not. Finally, a positive correlation between pitch and perceived Asianness was found for female speakers, corresponding to listeners’ metalinguistic commentary about the hallmarks and stereotypes of Asian or Asian American speech. The findings implicate the listener’s own ethnic identity and familiarity with a speech variety as an important factor in sociolinguistic perception.

Maintenance of phonetic and phonological distance in the English and Korean back vowel contours of heritage bilinguals

Bilingualism research demonstrates that the potential merger of vowel categories across a speaker’s two languages is affected by the age of acquisition of the second language. For heritage bilinguals, however, there is no clear L1 and L2, since they acquire their heritage language in early childhood, but become dominant in the mainstream language of society as adults. Heritage bilinguals may nevertheless will acquire distinct vowel systems in their two languages, rather than a merged system. In this study, the back vowels of California English and Seoul Korean, two varieties that are spoken by bilingual second-generation Korean Americans in California, were collected in natural speech. Formant measurements were analyzed using linear mixed effects regression modeling and generalized additive mixed modeling to see whether the vowels of each language were similar or different in their formant contours. As predicted, the bilinguals maintained distance between the vowels of both languages across their durations, and the phonological effects of coarticulation were found to be stronger in English than in Korean. The differences are attributed to “multicompetence” in heritage bilinguals’ phonology (Cook, 2020), or the interrelationship of multiple systems that exist and interact in the bilingual mind without merging completely, in opposition to models that frame heritage bilingualism as inherently imbalanced in favor of the dominant language.

Ethnic group differences in obesity in Asian Americans in California, 2013\u20132014

BackgroundObesity has been generally understudied in Asian Americans. It is important to identify subgroups of Asian Americans at high risk of obesity to help develop targeted interventions for those subgroups. This study aimed to examine the disparities in obesity among Asians (i.e., Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese) living in California.MethodsA sample of Adult Americans in California (n = 47,970) including Asian American adults (n = 3810) aged 18 years or older were obtained from the 2013–2014 California Health Interview Survey (the U.S. nation’s largest state cross-sectional health survey). Body mass index was calculated using self-reported height and weight. Weight status was determined using the WHO Asian BMI cut points in 4 categories: < 18.5 kg/m2 (underweight), 18.5–22.9 kg/m2 (normal weight), 23–27.5 kg/m2 (overweight), and ≥ 27.5 kg/m2 (obese). Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjustment for covariates.ResultsOverall, the prevalence of Asians was 23.3% for obesity and 40.0% for overweight. The obesity prevalence was higher in Asians who were males, aged 45–64 years old, had higher family income, were current smokers, never got married, had lower education level, had an insufficient level of physical activity, and had more frequent consumption of fast foods. After adjusting for other factors, compared to Whites, being Hispanics and Blacks were associated with higher odds of obesity (OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.31–1.65; OR = 2.04, 95%CI = 1.65–2.53, respectively); being Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese were associated with lower odds of obesity (OR = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.18–0.45; OR = 0.14, 95%CI = 0.04–0.46; OR = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.14–0.58, respectively). Compared to Chinese, being Japanese and Filipino were associated with higher odds of obesity (OR = 2.75, 95%CI = 1.52–4.95; OR = 2.90, 95%CI = 1.87–4.49, respectively).ConclusionsThe prevalence of adult obesity was high among Asian Americans in California. Ethnic/racial disparities in obesity among Asian Americans in California were observed in 2013–2014. Compared to Whites, being Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese were associated with lower odds of obesity. Among Asians, compared to Chinese, being Japanese and being Filipino were associated with higher odds of obesity. These findings can help design better interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in obesity, especially for Asian Americans.

Keeping to the Sober Truth: A Jewish Lutheran White Russian in San Francisco

Intrepid Russian American journalist Nadia Shapiro (1897-1989) explored aspects of Russian identity in the interwar American context, and was particularly salient with respect to the acculturation processes facing Russian émigrés arriving in San Francisco from China from 1918 forward. This article explores Shapiro’s experiences, contributions and, specifically, her writings, which also addressed issues of ethnicity and race within the American nativist environment. Her observations, both about the émigré community, as well as the experiences of Russian Americans in Alaska and California, spoke to the processes of Eastern Europeans and Slavs attaining a “state of whiteness” within the American hierarchical racial paradigm.

Acculturation and Hypertension Diagnoses Among Hispanics in California.

Among U.S. Hispanic immigrants and all other Hispanics living in the USA, heart disease is the leading cause of death. Meanwhile, the prevalence of hypertension among Mexican Americans, a subgroup of the U.S. Hispanic population, is rising. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertension diagnosis and to determine the association between acculturation and hypertension among Mexican Americans and Other Hispanics in California. Using data from the 2014 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), we performed multivariable logistic regression to identify whether acculturation (measured by self-reported duration of U.S. residence) predicted hypertension diagnoses, after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, poverty level), body mass index, health insurance coverage, and cigarette smoking. Of 3793 Hispanics who participated in the survey, 81.8% were Mexican Americans, and 18.2% were Other Hispanics. The prevalence of hypertension among Hispanics was 24.0% (95% CI: 21.5-26.7), which was lower than that of African Americans (40.3%, 95% CI 34.2-46.7) and Whites (31.8%, 95% CI: 29.7-34.0). In the multivariable regression analysis, acculturation was associated with hypertension for Mexican Americans (aOR = 1.71, 95% CI, 1.24-2.36) and Other Hispanics (aOR = 2.77, 95% CI, 1.71-4.51). The results show a positive association between acculturation in the USA and hypertension diagnoses among Mexican Americans and Other Hispanics. The findings can help public health practitioners, medical providers, policymakers, and others better understand the potential influences of acculturation on Hispanic immigrants' health and inform the creation of culturally sensitive health promotion materials.

Disparities in influenza vaccination: Arab Americans in California

BackgroundInfluenza vaccination among minoritized groups remains below federal benchmarks in the United States (US). We used data from the 2004–2016 California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS) to characterize influenza vaccination patterns among Arab Americans in California.MethodsInfluenza vaccination was self-reported by Arab American adults (N = 1163) and non-Hispanic Whites (NHW, N = 166,955). Differences in influenza vaccination prevalence and odds were compared using chi-squared tests and survey-weighted logistic regression, respectively.ResultsAcross all years, 30.3% of Arab Americans self-reported receiving an influenza vaccine (vs. 40.5% for NHW, p < 0.05). After sequential adjustment by sociodemographic, health behavior, and acculturation variables no differences in odds of self-reported influenza vaccination were observed between Arab Americans and NHW (odds ratio: 1.02, 95% confidence interval: 0.76–1.38). Male and unemployed Arab Americans had higher odds of reporting influenza vaccination than female and employed Arab Americans.ConclusionsFuture work should consider specific barriers to influenza vaccination in Arab American communities.

Insights Gained From Developing Academic-Community Partnerships for Minority Aging, Community-Engaged Research

Increasingly community-engaged research, characterized by collaborations between researchers and community partners, is recognized as an important part of translating research into improved health outcomes and reduced health disparities for community participants. Training community participants to engage in some or all aspects of this research, particularly focusing on racial and ethnic minority older adults, highlights the need to understand its opportunities and challenges. With this symposium we will discuss and reflect on community-engaged and community-based participatory research approaches to community-academic partnerships with minority older adults. The first presentation addresses recruitment, retention, and training of a community advisory board of older African Americans in Michigan. The second presentation addresses a health education outreach and engagement program to improve health outcomes among older African Americans in California. The third presentation combines community engagement with survey design methods for research with older Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults to improve data collection and health outcomes in this U.S. population. The final presentation examines partnerships between a hospital memory clinic, meal delivery service, research university, and low-income health clinic to improve caregiver and dementia patient outcomes for minority older adults. The symposium discussant will address opportunities, challenges, and implications of community-academic partnerships promoting minority aging.

“Oppressed and Destroyed”

In 1932 in Depression-era Los Angeles, Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros took advantage of a unique site on Olvera Street to confront Los Angeles’s establishment on behalf of not only Mexican Americans in California but the proletariat everywhere. The resulting mural, América tropical, challenged Los Angeles’s sanitized history of its Mexican past and the persecution of the city’s immigrant working class. The establishment responded by requesting that Siqueiros leave the country and by whitewashing the mural. In the late 1960s, the white overpaint began to fade, and América tropical re-emerged to play a part in another chapter of the politics of race and class in Los Angeles. Revisiting the mural and its destruction illuminates the complex interplay between outdoor art and civic discourse.

A Central Sierra Miwok Origins Story

Abstract This article examines an Indigenous origins narrative from central California. The text is an oral narrative about the theft of the sun by Coyote, recorded in the Central Sierra Miwok language. The article presents a formal analysis of the structure, language, and poetics of the text from the perspective of ethnopoetics, focusing on structural and lexical metaphors developed for describing the pathway of the sun. It then offers reflections on the ethnogeography and worldview presented in the text, linking it to Penutian migrations from the western Great Basin into central California’s Sierra Nevada several thousand years ago. The article also provides a general contextualization of the themes of the text in relation to California and western North American coyote stories and origins stories more generally.