Vulnerable Asian Research Articles

Asian American Diversity and Growth

This article examines how the growth and diversification of Asian Americans have shaped their integration into the US mainstream. I first review recent trends in demographic diversification, socioeconomic differentiation, and geospatial dispersion among Asians. As a high-achieving minority group, Asians—on average—have surpassed Whites in education, income, and wealth. This narrative, however, is inaccurate and incomplete, rendering intra-Asian disparities invisible. One consequence of intra-Asian diversity is the divergent destinies of hyperselected Asians and vulnerable Asians. Another is the increase in political polarization due to the rise of class-based politics. Despite increasing awareness of intra-Asian diversity, the current conceptual framework and data infrastructure are woefully inadequate, with an inherent bias toward the inclusion of the largest Asian groups at the exclusion of small and vulnerable Asian groups. Data disaggregation and integration can fill this gap by identifying new challenges and opportunities for research and policy interventions.

Valuing vulnerable Asian options with liquidity risk under Lévy processes

AbstractIn this paper, we study the pricing of vulnerable Asian options with liquidity risk. We employ general Lévy processes to capture the changes in the liquidity discount factors and the information processes of all assets. In the proposed pricing model, we obtain the closed-form pricing formula of vulnerable Asian options using the Fourier transform methods. Finally, the derived pricing formula is used to illustrate the effects of asymmetric jump risk, and the effects are relatively stable on (vulnerable) Asian options with different moneynesses.

Abstract PO-267: Demographic and psychosocial predictors of regular chronic hepatitis B monitoring among Asian Americans

Abstract Background: Asian Americans are 8-13 times more likely to develop liver cancer caused by chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and experience a 60% higher death rate than non-Hispanic whites. Doctor visitation for CHB monitoring every six months is effective to prevent liver cancer. Methods: This study utilized the baseline data from an ongoing randomized controlled clinical trial aimed at improving long-term adherence to CHB monitoring and treatment. The goal was to examine the association of sociodemographic and psychosocial factors with having a doctor's visit for their CHB in the past 12-months. Eligible Asian American CHB patients were recruited from the Greater Philadelphia Area and New York City. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to test the associations. Results: The analysis sample consists of 240 participants, among which 74% did not have a college degree, 46% had lower than $20,000 annual household income, 72% had limited English proficiency. Multivariable logistic regression showed that a higher hepatitis B (HBV) knowledge score (OR = 1.24, p < 0.01) and having a regular physician (OR = 3.45, p < .05) were significantly associated with a higher chance of having visited a doctor in the past 6 months for their CHB management. Having health insurance (OR = 4.63, p < .05), a higher knowledge score (OR = 1.29, p < .01), and a higher CHB management motivation score (OR = 1.12, p < .001) were associated with a higher chance of having blood work done in the past 6 months; Vietnamese ethnicity (vs Chinese) and having a college degree (vs not) were associated with a lower chance of testing. Conclusion: Our study found that both sociodemographic and psychosocial factors had significant impacts on CHB management, suggesting that addressing barriers to health care and improving CHB patients' psychosocial status would be effective intervention strategies to promote CHB management and liver cancer prevention among vulnerable Asian Americans with CHB. Citation Format: Lin Zhu, Wenyue Lu, Sarit Golub, Yin Tan, Ming-Chin Yeh, Minhhuyen T Nguyen, Elizabeth Handorf, Grace X. Ma. Demographic and psychosocial predictors of regular chronic hepatitis B monitoring among Asian Americans [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-267.

Ethnic and Neighborhood Differences in Poverty and Disability among Older Asian Americans in New York City

ABSTRACT Asian Americans are the fastest growing and fastest aging U.S. population, and occupy both extremes of socioeconomic and health indices. Using the 2016 NYCgov dataset, multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of poverty, acculturation and neighborhood-level variables with disability for different ethnic groups of Asian older adults (Chinese, South Asian, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese) in New York City. Findings indicated that South Asian older adults had higher odds for disability compared to other ethnic groups. Living in a neighborhood with higher percentages of persons of the same ethnicity was protective for Chinese older adults only. There is an important opportunity for interprofessional collaborations through education, awareness, screening and intervening to enhance systems of care for Asian older adults. Social workers can play a pivotal role in providing key linkages to form interprofessional solutions and shared efforts to address the needs of this understudied and under-resourced population. Future research is needed to better understand how ethnic enclaves are defined, and how they can benefit different ethnic groups of vulnerable Asian older adults.

Immunizing Against Hate: Overcoming Asian American and Pacific Islander Racism.

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019 SARS-CoV-2 — : severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 It has been more than a year since Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Sally Goza, MD, FAAP, warned against the threat severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) posed to children and families, including the harm coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–fueled racism and xenophobia could cause the Asian American community. Sadly, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, racism and violent attacks on Asian Americans spread along with it. Since March 2020, increases in racist rhetoric have coincided with increases in racist abuse, bullying, and attacks. According to Human Rights Watch,1 an organization that investigates abuses happening throughout the world, reports of discrimination and violence against Asians and people of Asian descent have surged both in the United States and worldwide. A new study of police department statistics2 from 16 of America’s largest cities reveals that hate crimes against Asian Americans rose nearly 150% in 2020, despite overall hate crimes dropping by 7%. Stop AAPI Hate,3 a national coalition that tracks incidents of violence and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, reported nearly 3800 instances of discrimination against Asians between March 19, 2020, and February 28, 2021. Although these reports may represent only a fraction of the hate incidents that occur, it is an indication of how vulnerable Asian Americans have become to racial attacks and discrimination. Widespread media coverage of violence committed against elderly Asian Americans in cities across the country is stirring up fear and a sense of … Address correspondence to Lee Savio Beers, MD, FAAP. E-mail: president{at}aap.org

Nexus between Air Pollution and Neonatal Deaths: A Case of Asian Countries.

The rapid economic growth in Asian countries has witnessed a persistent increase in air pollution complementing adverse health challenges for children in these countries. Quantification of health effects attributable to air pollution (PM2.5) is important in policy implications to tackle air pollution and associated health problems. This study aims to explore the nexus between air pollution and neonates’ deaths embedded in acute respiratory infection. We collected panel data from the 12 most vulnerable Asian countries over the period of 2000–2017 and analyzed through the fixed-effect model. Empirical results show a positive relation between air pollution, temperature, and neonates’ deaths in the studied Asian countries. The results have attested negative impacts of income and education while positive effect of population density on neonates’ deaths due to acute respiratory infection. Diagnostic and prognostic measures have checked the pace of the respiratory diseases caused by PM2.5 and resultant deaths in Asian countries; yet alarming factors, like mounting industrial air pollution and rapid expansion of industrial zones in urban areas, need to be addressed in policy implications for long term sustainable solutions.

Benthic community history in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) mega-delta: Damming, urbanization, and environmental control

AbstractThe coastal environment of the Changjiang delta has been influenced by recent anthropogenic activities such as dam construction and increased sewage and fertilizer inputs. Previous work examined the compositional shift of marine plankton to assess ecological impacts of these activities on marine ecosystems in the Changjiang discharge area. Here we used benthic marine ostracodes collected in the Changjiang estuary and the adjacent East China Sea in the 1980s and the 2010s, respectively, to investigate temporal changes of the benthic community and controlling factors for the benthic fauna. Our results revealed more shoreward distribution of some well-known offshore ostracode species in the 2010s compared with the 1980s and a relatively more important role for environmental processes (e.g., bottom-water temperature, bottom-water salinity, and eutrophic conditions of surface water) than spatial processes (e.g., the flow of ocean currents) in structuring ostracode compositions. The temporal changes in the ostracode community are likely attributable to the combined effects of reduced fresh water and sediment discharge and eutrophic conditions of the Changjiang due to the many dams constructed along the Changjiang and population expansion in the Changjiang Basin. Results of redundancy analysis and variation partitioning suggest that ocean currents facilitated environmental filtering of ostracode species such that they could disperse to preferred environmental conditions. These findings highlight the potential uses of marine microfossils to better understand ecological impacts on benthic ecosystems in vulnerable Asian mega-deltas and provide insights into the integration of metacommunity concepts in disentangling dynamics of marine benthic communities.

The habitat of freshwater clams found in a drainage ditch connected to Lake Biwa, Japan, and consideration of ditch management approaches for protecting the vulnerable Asian clam, Corbicula leana

The habitat of freshwater clams found in a drainage ditch connected to Lake Biwa, Japan, and consideration of ditch management approaches for protecting the vulnerable Asian clam, <i>Corbicula lea</i><i>na </i>

Valuing vulnerable geometric Asian options

An option on a defaultable instrument is prone to default risk arising from the probability that the instrument’s issuer will not honor its contractual obligations. Under this financial circumstance, we consider vulnerable Asian options. In this paper, we obtain parabolic partial differential equations with time-dependent coefficients on the vulnerable Asian option model and derive a closed formula of the pricing of the vulnerable geometric Asian option using the pricing formula of the vulnerable European option with time-dependent coefficients.

Capacity Development for Flood Waste Management in Vulnerable Asian Cities

Capacity Development for Flood Waste Management in Vulnerable Asian Cities

Hypothyroidism: Another Risk Factor for the Development of Diabetes in an Already Vulnerable Asian Indian Population?

Recently, Gronich et al. published a wonderful study postulating several molecular mechanisms that may explain the complex interplay between hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, and statin use vis-a-vis the development of diabetes mellitus (DM), and elucidated this in clinical practice. Hypothyroidism was found to carry an increased risk for developing new-onset DM in both the statin (RR 2.06 [95% CI 1.42–2.99]) and the non-statin (RR 1.66 [95% CI 1.05– 2.64]) cohort. On the other hand, subclinical hypothyroidism seemed to only factor in the development of DM in patients on a statin (RR 1.94 [95% CI 1.13–3.34]), as opposed to those not on a statin (RR 1.20 [95% CI 0.52–2.75]). Although over 90% of the participants in this study were of Jewish ethnicity, a multivariate analysis calculated Arab ethnicity as having a RR of 1.50 (95% CI 1.40–1.62) for developing DM associated with statin use and thyroid disease [1].

Identifying vulnerable Asian Americans under Health Care Reform: working in small businesses and health care coverage.

Working in small businesses has been identified as a key factor for low coverage rates in immigrant communities. In this study, we identify specific cultural and socioeconomic predictors of Asian Americans who work in small businesses to identify subgroups at a greater disadvantage than others in obtaining health insurance. Logistic regression models were fitted using a sample of 3,819 Asian American small business owners and employers extracted from pooled 2005–2012 California Health Interview Survey data. We found that individuals with low income levels, Korean Americans, U.S.-born South Asian and Southeast Asian (other than Vietnamese) Americans, immigrants without citizenship (particularly those lacking a green card), and individuals with limited English proficiency had higher odds of lacking coverage. The odds of being uninsured did not differ between small business owners and employees. Based upon these key findings, we propose several strategies to expand coverage for Asian Americans working in small businesses and their most vulnerable subgroups.