Value/Belief Pattern

Despite 1.7 million people in the US identifying themselves as Asian Indians or Indian Americans in the 2000 Census, Indian immigrants are not highly as a group in America because they usually speak English...and values acquired in India prior to immigrating to the US. Despite their numbers, however, Indian immigrants are not highly visible as a group because they usually speak English and do not tend to concentrate in distinct neighborhoods. Moreover, because many are highly educated there may be a perception that their assimilation into American culture is an automatic by-product of that education. However, not all Indians in the US are highly educated or successful professionals. Even among those who do fit that profile, many maintain customs, traditions, and values acquired in India prior to immigrating to the US. In addition, it is common for Indians who have settled in the US to bring aging parents to live with them who may not have previously lived abroad and do not always speak fluent English. Majority of the Indians from the Northern part of India are practicing Hindu religion. Hindus try to teach their children about Bhagavath gita and Ramayana (religious Book). They practice all Hindu festivals and visit temple on special occasions. Indians who migrated from the southern part of India are mostly Christians. They try to attend church every Sunday and try to lead their children in same religious path.
Many elders believe in the traditional Indian system of medicine called Ayurvedic Medicine as the means of preventing and curing illness. Ayurveda is an intricate system of healing that originated in India, thousands of years ago. Health is usually related to the connectedness of the body, mind and spirit. Most elderly focus spiritually in preparing the soul for life after death. Some believe that mental illness is due to possession of the evil eye. Because of the shame associated with mental health problems, families often refuse to seek professional help until a state of crisis is reached. Indians are very conscious about their children’s health status. They all have pediatricians for their children and take them for regular health visits and immunizations are all up to date. Even though most of them have health insurance, middle-aged people are not good in regular health checkup or having the screening tests as per the age for different fatal diseases. They practice home remedies for minor illness like fever, headache and back pain etc. Most of the Indians are not active in community education and fund raising events. The younger generation is getting more active in community activities. Indians respect the elder people and take care of their parents. Elder people are dependable to their children and they help to babysit the grant children. Indians are very hard working in nature. Usually they work one or two jobs and save money for their children’s college education. They give lot of importance to their children’s education.

Health Perception / Management
Immigrant Asian Indian men in the U.S. have a high prevalence of coronary heart disease, non insulin-dependent diabetes, lower high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and hypertriglyceridemia.. The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is three times higher in Asian Indian women than in women in the U.S. as a whole. In India only 1 in 40 women gets breast cancer, but in United States one out of every eight Asian Indian women will get the disease, the highest incidence in the world. According to the American Cancer Society, South Asian women have the second highest incidence of cancer among Asian Pacific Islanders. Asian women, including Asian Indian women, are at a high risk for osteoporosis. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, because of the differences in bone mass and density between these groups, Asian and Caucasian women are at higher risk than African Americans and Hispanics.
Even though Asian Indian physicians comprise the highest proportion of foreign medical graduates practicing in the U.S, most Asian Indians do not possess adequate knowledge with regard to health issues. The majority of Asian Indians, especially the vegetarians, believe that they are eating a healthy diet, but many Asian Indian dieticians think otherwise. Many Asian Indians are not aware of basic nutritional factors.
According to CDC, Asian/Pacific Islander adults are 20% less likely to ever have received the pneumococcal vaccine as compared to non-Hispanic white adults. 68 percentage of Asians aged 65 years and older received the influenza (flu) shot in 2008. 38 percentage of Asians aged 18 to 64 years received the influenza (flu) shot in 2008. 47 percentage of Asians aged 65 years and older received the pneumococcal vaccine (pneumonia shot) in 2008 (CDC, 2011). 92.4 percentage of Asian children aged 19 to 35 months are fully immunized in 2009 (CDC, 2011)

Nutrition / Metabolic

Many Asian Indians are not aware of basic nutritional factors. Most Hindus are vegetarians. However, some find eating eggs, fish, or even occasionally meat a necessity in modem urban American life. Rice and tea are served at every meal. Many Indians eat American-style meals for breakfast and lunch and traditional meals for dinner. Unleavened wheat bread, vegetables, fruit, yogurt-based food, and curries remain important in the diets of most Asian Indians.
Indians like to eat homely food, so they cook their food at home. They eat outside occasionally on Sundays or on holidays. The typical Asian Indian diet averages 56% of energy intake from carbohydrates, 32% from total fat and 8% from saturated fat. The high fat intake is associated with obesity. Indian women may need to evaluate for conditions such as protein malnutrition, beriberi or thiamine deficiency, pellagra or niacin deficiency and iron-deficient anemia that may be due to a vegetarian diet.

Elimination

Source
Source: CDC 2011. Healthy People 2010 Database. Table 14-29d. http://wonder.cdc.gov/scripts/data2010 Source: CDC 2011. National Immunization Survey (NIS) - Children 19-35 months old. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/stats-surv/nis/data/tables_2009.htm U.S. Department of health and Human Services office of Minority healthhttp://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?lvl=3&lvlID=60&ID=3064

Rediff.com US edition (May 16, 2001). Asian Indian population doubles in a decade. Retrieved July 31, 2003, from http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/16usspec.htm.
Asian Culture Brief: India A collaborative project between NTAC-AAPI and the Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE) at the State University of New York at Buffalo
Prepared by Marsha E. Shapiro, based on the original monograph http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Asian_Culture_Brief__India.pdf Asian Indian Culture:Influences and Implications for Health Care
The Molina Institute for Cultural Competency
Sonia Gordon, MS, NP, Martha Bernadett, MD, Dennis Evans, BA,
Natasha Bernadett Shapiro, BA, Urmila Patel, MD
http://www.molinahealthcare.com/medicaid/providers/common/pdf/asian