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Explanatory Models of Health and Disease Among South Asian Immigrants in Chicago

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Abstract

To identify concepts of health and disease as part of a study on designing culturally-targeted heart disease prevention messages for South Asians. We conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews in English, Hindi and Urdu with 75 respondents from a federally qualified health center and at a community center for South Asian immigrants in Chicago, Illinois. Age ranged from 20 to 70 years; 60% were women; 60% held advanced degrees; 70% migrated to the US in the last 10 years; and 60% of the interviews were in Hindi or Urdu. Concepts of health and disease fell into four domains: behavioral, physical, psycho-social and spiritual. Muslim participants consistently evoked spiritual factors such as faith and prayer. Women more frequently included performing home duties and positive affect in their concept of health. Men more frequently cited behavioral factors such as smoking and drinking as the cause of disease. Many South Asians have a holistic conceptualization of health and disease, incorporating spiritual, physical and psycho-social factors. Health promotion strategies aimed at South Asians in the US should take into account this holistic model of health and disease, while also recognizing that variations exist within South Asians, by gender and religion.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Career Development Award 5 K23 HL 084177, PI-Dr. Kandula). During the research and writing of this paper Dr. Tirodkar was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, supported by an Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Award from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grant (H133P980014). The authors thank Asian Human Services Family Health Center and Indo-American Center for assistance with data collection. The authors also thank Jason A. Thompson for statistical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Committee for Quality Assurance, 1100 13th Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC, 20005, USA

    Manasi A. Tirodkar

  2. Institute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA

    David W. Baker & Namratha R. Kandula

  3. Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA

    David W. Baker, Gregory T. Makoul, Neerja Khurana & Namratha R. Kandula

  4. St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA

    Gregory T. Makoul & Namratha R. Kandula

  5. Asian Human Services Family Health Center, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA

    Muhammad W. Paracha

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  1. Manasi A. Tirodkar
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  6. Namratha R. Kandula
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Correspondence to Manasi A. Tirodkar.

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Tirodkar, M.A., Baker, D.W., Makoul, G.T. et al. Explanatory Models of Health and Disease Among South Asian Immigrants in Chicago. J Immigrant Minority Health 13, 385–394 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9304-1

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