Diversities and Complexities in the Health of Asian Women

Eun-Ok Im, PhD, MPH, RN, CNS, FAAN, is the Marjorie O. Rendell Endowed Professor in the School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Approximately 15 million Asians, including three million midlife women, reside in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). From 2000 to 2010, the Asian American population grew faster than any other major racial/ethnic group by 43% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Despite the rapidly increasing number of Asians in the United States, very little is known about their health. Indeed, very few studies have been conducted among this specific population because they have been regarded as a healthy immigrant group whose morbidity and mortality rates of acute and chronic diseases are lower than those of any other racial/ethnic groups in the United States.