This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Kim, M. J. Articles by Khan, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, M. J. Articles by Khan, S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Health Disparities in Lifestyle Choices Among Hypertensive Korean Americans, Non-Hispanic Whites, and Blacks

College of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago, mjk{at}uic.edu

Yang-Heui Ahn, PhD

Yonsei University at Wonju, Wonju, South Korea

Chris Chon, MD

Korean Clinic at Rush North Shore Medical Center, Skokie, IL

Phyllis Bowen, PhD

University of Illinois at Chicago

Shaheen Khan, MS

School of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Purpose and Methods. To describe medication profile, diet, and exercise/physical activity in hypertensive Korean Americans, a convenience sample of 100 hypertensive Korean Americans (KAs) at two KA health clinics were interviewed by bilingual Korean nurses using questions from the 1988-1994 Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). One hundred age- and gender-matched hypertensive non-Hispanic Whites and 100 Blacks were randomly selected from the NHANES III dataset, and results were compared to describe the health disparities in lifestyle choices among the three groups. Results. The medication profile among the three groups was similar. A majority of members of all three groups had been told by health professionals to exercise for hypertension. KAs made significantly less effort to reduce salt in their diets than did members of the other two groups (p < .05). Fewer KAs than non-Hispanic Whites or Blacks were following their health professionals’advice to control or lose weight for their high blood cholesterol levels. KAs had the lowest body mass index and were older and more educated than members of the other two groups. KAs’ primary reasons for using the KA clinic were the respect they received and the use of the Korean language. Implications. KA health professionals need to teach their patients more about the importance of health-promoting lifestyles for hypertension and its contributing factors. More KA hypertensive patients should follow the advice of health professionals on healthy lifestyles. Nurses should continue to treat patients with respect and provide care with sensitivity to language needs of patients.

Key Words: hypertension • health disparities • minority ethnic groups • lifestyles

Biological Research For Nursing, Vol. 7, No. 1, 67-74 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1099800405276820


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?