ABSTRACT
276 Objective: Health disparities exist among South Asians in the United States. In 2013, the South Asian Health: From Research to Practice and Policy was established to use a multistakeholder translational research partnership approach to address these disparities. Guided by framework from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a blueprint was created to address cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer disparities research among South Asians in the United States. This chapter describes the multistakeholder approach used for developing the blueprint, along with key findings, and presents CVD and cancer as examples of how translational research, practice, and policy can potentially address these health disparities.
Key Findings: Several findings emerged that cut across all of the working group themes, including a need for disease and risk factor surveillance that recognizes the heterogeneity of South Asians living in the United States; the need to involve migration and acculturation as factors in disease prevalence, progression, and outcomes; the need to see the role of family and community in a patient's experience of health and illness; the need to solicit participation in research, 277health promotion, and initiation of policy change; and the need for culturally appropriate diagnostic and treatment models.
Recommendations: This multistakeholder translational health research partnership approach was successful in engaging key South Asian health stakeholders and setting health research priorities. This framework can be applied to identifying research priorities in the context of other health conditions covered in this publication. Multistakeholder input and involvement is critical for building consensus and fostering engagement to reduce health disparities among South Asians living in the United States.
