A one-day symposium on health issues affecting Asian Women in New York City will be held on Friday, December 10, 2004 at the Federal Building Conference Center in New York.

“Women’s Health Symposium – Focus on Asian American Women in New York City” will provide the latest information on diagnosis, treatment and service models for mental health, cervical and ovarian cancer, cardiovascular disease, domestic violence, immigration life in New York City and infectious diseases such as sexually transmitted diseases among Asian women. In addition, in an effort to address the social cultural barriers faced by Asian American women, the program will also introduce new models to provide optimal culturally competent care to this population.

According to the 2000 US census, Asian Americans represent 4.2 percent of the US population, and about 21 percent of Asian Americans lack health insurance, compared to 16 percent of the general population. Barriers against Asian Americans in getting quality healthcare range from financial, linguistic, cultural and even structural issues. Asian Americans are also stereotyped as the “model minority” which often leads healthcare professionals and policymakers to overlook their issues. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that during 1988-1992, the highest age-adjusted incidence rate of cervical cancer occurred among Vietnamese American women was almost five times higher than the rate among non-Hispanic white women. CDC reports also indicate that Asian American women over the age of 65 have the highest female suicide mortality rate among women across all racial/ethnic groups, and among all racial/ethnic groups among women aged 15-24.

Symposium speakers will include Susan Blank, Bureau of Sexually Transmitted Disease Control for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Ming Der Chang, American Cancer Society; Srihari Naidu, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell; Susan M. Shah, Center for Immigrant Health, NYU School of Medicine; and Anita Gundanna, New York Asian Women’s Center. The keynote speaker will be Hilary Sunghee Seo, Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services, Sanctuary for Families.

Expected to attend will be physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nursing students, medical students, health educators, social workers and others who provide health care to Asian American women.

This symposium is a joint health education venture of the four women dedicated to raising awareness of health issues affecting women and ensuring that all women receive high quality, culturally competent health care. Planning Committee members include: Henrietta Ho-Asjoe, Center for the Study of Asian American Health – NYU School of Medicine; Anita Redrick McFarlane, Cancer Information Service of New York, Henrietta Ho-Asjoe, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center and Daisy A. Vazquez, Symposium Consultant. This is the second symposium the Planning Committee has organized.

The symposium is made possible by the support of Cancer Information Service of New York; Center for the Study of Asian American Health – NYU School of Medicine; Charles B. Wang Community Health Center and the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Family Planning. In addition, over twenty community-based organizations have provided their support.

All registrations must be received by December 1, 2004. Pre-registration is required, as there will be no registration on site. For registration or symposium information, please contact Henrietta Ho-Asjoe, Center for the Study of Asian American Health – NYU School of Medicine at 917-216-6573 or via email at e-mail protected from spam bots.