Akron/Cleveland, Ohio – Asian Services In Action (ASIA) is pleased to announce that it has received a two-year grant from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health to address Type 2 diabetes prevention, education, outreach and support program. The first year award of $74,772 (renewable for the second year) is for ASIA’s Health and Activities Promotion Initiative (HAPI).

The Health and Activities Promotion Initiative (HAPI) is a linguistically appropriate and culturally relevant Asian American diabetes prevention, education, outreach and support program. The goals of HAPI are:
1. To prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes among high-risk Asian American ethnic groups and the broader Asian American community,

2. To support active living, healthy eating, and greater diabetes knowledge among those who are pre-diabetic or at-risk for Type 2 diabetes,

3. Lastly, to increase the cultural competency of providers so they can better take care of their Asian American patients.

According to a recent report, the fastest growing cases of diabetes are among Asian and Latino adults. Nationally, it is the 5th leading cause of death among Asian American and Pacific Islanders – AAPIs (compared to 7th among all Americans). In northeastern Ohio, it is estimated that nearly 3,000 AAPIs are living with diabetes. Within the AAPI community, diabetes cases are highest among Asian Indian, Filipino, Korean and Southeast Asian populations. Each of these communities has unique socio-economic, historical, cultural, and linguistic factors that attribute to their higher risk for diabetes.

“As our immigrant and refugee communities become more acculturated to American life, specifically to western eating habits and lifestyle, they are fast becoming part of the health crisis that is affecting many Americans. Through this program, we hope to delay or prevent Type 2 diabetes among Asian Americans in northeastern Ohio,” said Michael Byun, ASIA Executive Director.

The Health and Activities Promotion Initiative is funded by the Ohio Commission on Minority Health.