UCLA granted $3 million for study on sexual and reproductive health of Asian immigrant women

October 5, 2022

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health researchers have been awarded $3 million to study the sexual and reproductive health of Asian immigrant women in the United States, the university announced on Monday.

The five-year study, which will be conducted in New York, Georgia and California, received the grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal grant started at $646,606 in September, according to the NIH.

“Asian immigrant women report a higher chance of unintended pregnancies and use less sexual and reproductive health care compared to their US-born counterparts, but are often disregarded in policy solutions,” Dr. May Sudhinaraset, associate professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and vice chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences, said in a statement.

Sudhinaraset will be leading the study, according to the university.

“Our goal in this project is to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health data among the most diverse sample of Asian immigrant women to date, which is critical to ensuring reproductive justice at a time when Asian women are facing assaults from multiple fronts,” Sudhinaraset added.

The Asian population is the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. Over 20 million Asians and Asian Americans live in the U.S., 60 percent of whom are immigrants.

The group is expected to be the largest immigrant group in the country by 2055, which includes 1.5 million undocumented Asians, according to UCLA.

“Asian-Americans and Asians in the US are very diverse, from Americans whose ancestors came to the US in the 1800s to very recent immigrants; from civilians to undocumented migrants; and from the working poor to the very rich, and everything in between,” Dr. Gilbert Gee, professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences, said.

“Historically, however, national health statistics have often thrown Asians into a ‘different’ category or completely excluded them. focused and effective,” he added.

The study, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander women of different ethnicities and immigration statuses, is a collaboration between the UCLA Fielding School, UC Irvine, Rutgers University, and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

“There is a serious lack of data on the unique and intersectional life experiences of Asian-American and Pacific Islander women, particularly the barriers immigrant women face when accessing sexual and reproductive health care,” Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director at NAPAWF, said.

“NAPAWF is excited to partner with UCLA on this study to uncover the needs of AAPI subgroups, which will strengthen the ability of AAPI organizations to best serve the realities and needs of our communities,” she continued.

Featured Image via Dragon Pan

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