SALT LAKE CITY — It’s Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month, and a key priority for some community organizations is raising awareness about health care.
The Pacific Seas Restaurant and Market in Salt Lake City is a popular spot for the community to gather. "Where a lot of people gather to eat, and mealtime is a wonderful place to talk about it,” said Lisia Satini, with the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition.
Organizers are emphasizing the importance of talking about health in the pacific islander community. Jeneanne Lock is Native Hawaiian, Chinese and Portuguese and is a breast cancer survivor.
She works at Utah Pacific Islander Civic Engagement Coalition. Breast cancer runs in Lock’s family. Her grandmother was diagnosed at a late stage.
"She did not think that speaking of your breast health was something that you would just casually discuss with your family,” said Lock.
But, times are changing – Lock said her mother openly spoke to her about her journey with breast cancer. "She talked to me about it a lot because she didn’t want to keep it a secret like her mother did and she wanted me to be proactive in my own breast health."
The Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition says there is still a knowledge gap in the community when it comes to cancers -- explaining that there are language barriers and stigmas to overcome.
"One of our main focuses is breast cancer and cervical cancer awareness. There's a high percentage of pacific islanders that are not aware that it is something that is a disparity within our community,” said Satini.
A report presented to the state legislature showed that pacific islanders are nearly five times more likely to die from diabetes than other Asian groups. "Want to make sure the community is aware we are not a monolith,” said Satini.
So it's vital to not club pacific islanders with other Asian communities when it comes to health care, but address specific needs by population. "Our issues, even our body types, we're very different in statures and health issues that we have,” said Satini.
If you want to learn more about the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition and access its resources, you can learn more here.
