Eye Care Health Awareness Said To Be Low Among Asian Americans

By Jeff | Wednesday, September 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

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This press release from Transitions Optical says that eye care awareness is low among Asian Americans, which is a concern because Asian Americans are more vulnerable than the general population to such eye ailments as Glaucoma and conditions like diabetes which can lead to blindness. The release cites a recent study that says that two out of three Americans do not know that ethnicity can be a risk factor for developing eye health issues. Asian Americans are said to be the most likely ethnic to group to skip their eye examinations. Transitions Optical is a manufacturer of eye care lenses and funds a number of charities concerned with eye health.

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HealthLifestyles

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http://www.facebook.com/people/Ahmed-Sanchez-De-La-Cruz-Kim/58700922 Ahmed Sanchez De La Cruz Kim

I think that among Asian Americans, the biggest concern we need is for the elderly (any older person 50+, generally speaking) and the new migrants.
Some of the older people, not all, but quite a few have those attitude of “I’m already old, so what do I need to worry” but they also have that fear of potentially having any disease. This sounds very contradictory, but if you all spend enough time to talk to them and read between the lines, this is what’s on their minds and it’s an obstacle to good health care for them.

Some of the new migrants, not all, but some of them fall in the lower income and less formal educated bracket. Some of them don’t know the importance of having an annual checkup and/or some of them or avoiding it in order to be frugal. In some cases, the children and other dependents of the family are aware, but the people taking care of them don’t or can’t or won’t take any action. It’s quite real and a serious issue. (note: non-American attitudes towards health care is different overall. Putting politics aside, in a lot of places, not just Asia, people don’t have that sentiment to do annual check ups and tend to put off health care matters aside for later times).

I think to help out, the AA community is and should continue to bring more awareness of taking care of their health, even for the “less urgent” matters like eye care and dental care. Let the new migrants know, in both English and their native languages and customs, how important it is and where to go, how to afford it, etc. And with the older AAs, the best route I’ve seen is to let family members be more vigilant and informed. Some cases, the younger family member can help and in other cases, it takes an older one to do so. Out of both cultural sensitivities and personal dignity, it be better and more efficient if a family member, or someone the older AAs really really really trust, to reach out to them.

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