Introduction to Biopsychosocial Approaches to Understanding Health in South Asian Americans

Abstract

This book is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary text to holistically improve understanding of the health of South Asians residing in the United States by considering biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors of health. The vast literatures of diverse fields-psychology, medicine, public health, social work, and health policy-are integrated by leading scholars, scientists, and practitioners in these areas to explore the impact of South Asian cultural factors on health, health risk, and illness. Chapters incorporate available theoretical and empirical information on the status of chronic health conditions in South Asians in the United States, with consideration of future directions to improve understanding of the health of this group. Cultural and ethnic insights imperative for clinical/community/medical practitioners to provide effective and culturally-appropriate care and treatment from an interdisciplinary lens are provided. The book considers the biopsychosocial health of South Asian Americans. In particular, the authors seek to review the current literature relating to the psychological and biological health of South Asian Americans, and consider how sociocultural factors may impact and even explain various aspects of South Asian American health. Overall, it seeks to emphasize the importance of considering culture in both medical and psychological healthcare. Given the vast cultural history of South Asian Americans, the book has divided the present work into three chronological sections. Part I focuses on the general history of South Asians in America. Part II focuses on the how the present models of health pertain to South Asian Americans. The section is divided into biological models of health, psychological models of health, and sociocultural models of health. Part III provides an overview of the major health conditions that affect South Asian Americans. Part IV addresses the barriers to health promotion among South Asian American. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)