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List of Topics: Assessment of Asian Americans Needs, Problems and Assets Asian American Population Profile Health and Mortality Consequence of Tobacco Use Asian Population Groups in Michigan in 1990 List of links to the Census Bureau's Website
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ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION PROFILE Dr. Douglas K. Chung Asian Center The term Asian-Americans refers to people living in the United States whose ancestors were native inhabitants of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the India subcontinent, the Pacific Islands, or those who are categorized by the U.S. Census Bureau as being Asian American. It is a diversified population. There are about 32 different nationalities, each having many racial/ethnic subgroups. There are nearly 500 languages and dialects within the Asian American population. For example, the Republic of China in Taiwan has at least 15 ethnic groups whose languages differ as well.
ASSESSMENT OF ASIAN AMERICANS NEEDS, PROBLEMS, AND ASSETS
An assessment of Asian Americans' needs and problems was done by Dr. Douglas K. Chung in 1993. It provides a profile of the following issues: history of discrimination experienced by this group, the elderly, Asian youths' confluence and conflict, submission and the Asian woman, consequences of being the "Model Minority" and "Triple Minority", adjustment issues encountered by Asian males, and the lack of culturally competent human service practices. Asian Americans migrated to the United States with their cultures intact. There are many strengths of Asian cultural context that Asian Americans carried with them. Asian Americans conceive of an ideal society in which the following 13 values prevail: equity, trust, respect, sharing, cooperative and nurturing community, democracy, adequacy in meeting human needs, efficiency and effectiveness of resource utilization, self and societal actualization through role performance, freedom from crime, and harmony. It is a complementary society; a part of the harmonious universe (Chung, 1993). These values indicate that Asian Americans have many cultural assets, such as loyalty, a strong work ethic and a commitment to education. It suggests that culturally sensitive human service practices, information networks, and new integrated service systems (e.g., the Asian Center) are needed to effectively solve these multidimensional problems by utilizing Asian American cultural assets. ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION PROFILE Asian Americans are currently one of the fastest growing minorities in United States, including western Michigan. Takaki (1989) reports that in 1960 there were 877,934 Asians in the United States, representing one-half of 1% of the country's population. The 1990 census counted 6,908,638 Asian Americans, an increase of nearly 800% in 30 years. In 1998, that number increased to 9,650,000. Today, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1998, nearly 3.6% of the 269,239,000 people currently in the U.S. consists of Asian Americans.
Bipolar Occupational Roles among Asian Americans Asian Americans have a bipolar occupational distribution. They tend to be distributed either in high-end professional jobs or low-end service jobs. This occupational role distribution is related to Asian Americans' emphasis on education. For example, with 1.5% of Asian Americans in the State of Michigan, there are 10.8% of Asian American students in the University of Michigan in 1996. Asian American Health Profile – Prevalence of Tobacco Use: Up or Down? Among the preventive diseases, Asian Americans are at high risk for smoking and smoking-related illnesses. According to "Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1998", in 1995, 15.3% of adult Asian American & Pacific Islanders smoked cigarettes (males and females). Thus, of approximately 6.6 million adult Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders in 1995, over 1.0 million were smokers or about 2.1% of the 47 adult million smokers in the U.S. Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders of all ages (adults and youth) in 1995 made up 3.5% of the overall U.S. population. Cigarette smoking among adult Asian-American & Pacific Islander males dropped slightly from 32.5% in 1978 to 25.1% in 1995, while smoking among adult females dropped from 14.7% to 5.8%. This trend reflected the overall smoking decline in America during that period, however female smoking rates were dropping more slowly than male rates. Overall, smoking rates among Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (men and women combined) are lower than whites and other minority groups; Asian American & Pacific Islanders (men and women combined) are lower than whites and other minority groups. With the exception of Hispanic women, Asian-American women have the lowest smoking rates of all other ethnic/racial groups. The cigarette smoking rate among older Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders is consistently lower than that of younger adults. The rate for those aged 55 and over (males and females combined) in 1978 was 17.4% and 2.3%, respectively. The rate of cigar smoking was among the lowest of minority groups and more than twice as low as that of whites. Fewer Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders smoked pipes than any group except Hispanics. The use of chewing tobacco or snuff was 1.2% versus 6.8% among white men, the lowest rate of any group. Among Asian American & Pacific Islander women, pipe and cigar smoking was negligible. In 1998, NAWHO partnered with the American Cancer Society to conduct the first-ever national multi-lingual survey, Smoking Among Asian Americans, to measure smoking prevalence among Asian American. According to NAWHO's survey, about one-third of Vietnamese American men (34%) and Korean American men (31%) currently smoke. This survey also found that many Asian American women (31% of Vietnamese American women and 27% of Korean American women) are exposed to second-hand smoke at home and at the workplace, making them susceptible to tobacco-related illnesses. The findings of NAWHO's survey showed that Asian Americans are indeed at high risk for smoking-related illnesses and deaths. Health and Mortality Consequence of Tobacco Use: Virtually all cases of lung cancer are attributable to cigarette smoking. Data on lung cancer among Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders has limitations, due to immigration trends and numerous racial/ethnic subgroups. Lung cancer rates among men are about half the rate of white males and about 1/3 the rate of African American males. Rates among women appear to be about ½ those of both white and African American women. Smoking causes cancers of the lung, larynx, mouth, esophagus, and bladder, and is a contributing factor for cancers of the pancreas, kidney, and cervix. Data specific to Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders is subject to the limitations noted above. Incidence and death rates are difficult to determine, however African American rates appear to be the highest of all minority populations.
In Michigan, the population of Asian and Pacific Islander grew from 107,149 (1.2%) in 1990 to 145,553 (1.5%) in 1998. According to the1998 census report, the majority (88%) are living in the following counties: Oakland, 36,226; Wayne, 28, 420; Washtenaw, 16,209; Macomb, 13,497; Ingham, 10,085; Kent, 7,709; Kalamazoo, 4,247; Genesee, 3825; Ottawa, 3,751; Berrien, 1,887; Saginaw, 1,739; Calhoun, 1,458. Major Asian American sub-groups in Michigan Major Asian groups in Michigan counties can be found in the following table according to 1990 Census data.
Asian Population Groups in Michigan in 1990 Counties/Groups
Asian American Organizations in Michigan There are many (how many) Asian American organizations in Michigan. These organizations are mainly categorized as: cultural, educational, fine and performing arts, folk, health, political, professional, religious, social service, and for-profit businesses.
Asian Americans in Kent county and surrounding communities In Kent County, Michigan, the Asian population increased from 5,652 in 1990 (1.1%) to 7,709 in 1998 (1.4%) according to the Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Michigan Department of Community Health. Allen County had 420 Asian Americans in 1990 (0.5%) and 585 in 1998 (0.6%). Muskegon County had 563 Asian Americans in 1990 (0.4%) and 750 in 1998 (0.5%). Ionia County had 120 Asian Americans in 1990 (0.2%) and 166 in 1998 (0.3%). According to 1980 and 1990 census data, the Asian-American population increased 129.8% in Kent County and 130.1% in Ottawa County. The rate of increase for Michigan Asian residents (162.1%) is much higher than the national increase (107.8%). This is mainly due to Michigan's service capacities and economic opportunities. http://www.census.gov/apsd/www/wepeople.html http://www.census.gov/apsd/wepeople/we-4.pdf Recent Estimates - Asian and Pacific Islanders http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/popest.html Current Population Surveys: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/api.html Business: Survey of Minority and Women owned Business http://www.census.gov/csd/mwb/ State Data http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/st_srh.html County Data http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/co_crh.html State Data Centers for 50 state information: |
