Message from the President

Dear C olleagues ,                                           

Greetings! I am deeply honored to be elected as your President and to have the opportunity to work alongside our continuing and newly-elected Board members of the South Asian Public Health Association (SAPHA). I would like to thank our immediate past President, Nazeera Dawood and Board members: Vaibhav Jain, Shipra Singh, Yousra Yusuf, Phani Veeranki, Shibani Ray-Mazumder, Syed Shahrukh Hashmi, Simran Kaur and Sana Hashim for their dedication and leadership. I want to acknowledge and thank our committed interns for the wonderful support they provide. Last but not least, I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to our new board members: Saman Aziz, Samira Khan, Trushna Rao and Priya Thaker.

Over the years, SAPHA has made significant contributions to education and awareness, advocacy, partnership building, as well as research and scholarship to advance the health of South Asians in USA. Yet, there is much that remains to be done! On behalf of the Board, I strongly encourage you to continue to participate and share your ideas with us, and to invite your colle agues to join us. As a SAPHA member, you will have voting rights and eligibility to run for the SAPHA Board of Directors; be eligible to be part of a SAPHA committee and have access to exclusive member-only portions of the website.

SAPHA's long term success depends on each one of you; your active engagement, energy and contributions make us who we are. Let us continue to build on the important work we have done in the past and break new ground. By collaborating and working together, we can strengthen our collective efforts and continue advancing the critically important current and emerging foci in enhancing the health and well-being of South Asian individuals, as well as the communities in which they live and work. 

Thank you for placing your trust in my leadership. I draw inspiration  from Margaret Mead's wise words: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

I wish you and your families the very best in health, happiness, peace, meaning and success.

Memoona Hasnain, MD, MHPE, PhD
President, SAPHA
Professor and Interim Head,
Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago

 

New Board Members 2018

 

We'd like to take this time to introduce our new board members in 2018 - Dr. Saman Aziz, Samira Khan, Dr. Trushna Rao, and Priya Thaker. All of them have championed public health throughout their careers and we are so excited to see where their leadership will take SAPHA in the upcoming year.

 

Dr. Saman Aziz

Dr. Aziz received her medical degree from Sind Medical College Karachi, Pakistan and Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) and Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. As a medical professional interested in the unique yet intertwined areas of education, research and public health, Dr. Aziz strives to find ways of better equipping herself to merge these three areas and translate them into providing excellent care for patients. The breadth of her expertise covers a wide area of clinical research. She has serve d as a Research Specialist for 14 years at the University of Illinois at Chicago, (UIC) Department of Me dical Education for the assessment of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core curriculum. She has been involved in coordinating study design, protocol preparation, clinical study reports and publications on rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and HPV vaccine awareness studies. She is highly motivated to solve the health care dilemmas of minority population within the South Asian community. Dr. Aziz looks forward to working with SAPHA in her quest to approach problems from a systems perspective.

 

Samira Khan

Samira received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from CUNY - The City College of New York in 2013, and a Master of Public Health from Hofstra University in 2016. In her final semester at Hofstra, she received her Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) certification. She is currently working as a Research Program Coordinator at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Samira works primarily in research that examines the relationship between sleep disordered breathing, specifically obstructive sleep apnea, and cardiovascular outcomes. She previously worked as a research assistant at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, working on research that primarily focused on examining the effects of aerobic exercise on cognition in individuals with schizophrenia. Her public health research interests include examining and reducing health disparities in immigrant populations, focusing primarily on South Asian and Muslim communities. Samira's other current activities include working as a weekend school teacher at the Islamic Center of Long Island, training medical scribes at the Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island, and serving as Secretary for the Hofstra Public Health Alumni Association. Samira's future goals include pursuing medical school and expanding on the research she conducted for her 

Master's Thesis, which examined the relationship between provider communication and patient understan ding, and  how it influences health behaviors in a Muslim population. This thesis was also selected for roundtable discussion at the APHA Conference in November 2017 . She looks forward to serving on the Board of Directors for SAPHA. 

Dr. Trushna Rao

Dr. Rao completed her initial schooling in Vidya Kunj School, Vadodara, India and Copthall Girls' Gram mar School, in London, UK. Her undergraduate Medical Degree was conferred by the M. S. University, Vadodara, India. This was followed by post-graduation in ENT at M. S. University, Vadodara, India. Trushna received her MBA, specializing in Technology and Healthcare Management, from the Mike Cottrell College of Business at the University of North Georgia. She also received Healthcare Certification from Brenau University. She has a Diploma in Teaching Healthcare Professionals from Queen's University, Belfast, Ireland.  Having achieved success as an ENT Surgeon, she  now focuses on community service. She has global experience with disadvantaged communities, with  35 years of practice as an ENT specialist in India, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Her accomplishments include setting up various time and cost saving initiatives in her department in Ireland, mentoring medical and nursing students and being on the medical examiners' panel of Ireland. To assimilate the sidelined illiterate groups in Toccoa into their local community, she spearheaded the first representation for the Center at the Annual Sheriff's Christmas Parade and Festival of Trees Competition. Trushna is a family-centered person, and takes humble pride in supporting her ENT-practicing husband, her 3 self-confident, community-oriented children, and her numerous pets. She is a caring, fun-loving individual who enjoys yoga and hiking with local groups. She is also the medical lead committee member for the International Day of Yoga celebration held annually by the Indian Consulate in Atlanta.  

Priya Thaker

Priya received both her undergraduate degree in molecular, cell and developmental biology and her master's degree in public health with a concentration in community health sciences from UCLA. A Senior Analyst at the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), Priya   manages  th e production, quality, and timely delivery of data to drive hospital, government, and community-level policymaking and planning. She also belongs to a UCLA team advising the DHHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation on the collection of race/ethnicity information across federal surveys and the measurement implications on underrepresented populations. 

Having worked with IT teams to support online dissemination of CHIS data, Priya is interested in coordinating efforts to strengthen SAPHA's online presence and eager to increase data capacity for SAPHA to supplement existing and facilitate new data projects that explore the health needs of South Asians.

SAPHA Board of Directors Application

DUE: Friday, October 19, 2018

The South Asian Public Health Association announces  open nominations for the election of the 2019-2021 Board of Directors!

 

We welcome all nominations, including self-nominations, of individuals who are dedicated to forwarding SAPHA's mission and who have paid SAPHA membership dues by the date of application. 

The application is enclosed at the end of the newsletter.

SAPHA 

Mission

The mission of the South Asian Public Health Association is to promote the health and well-being of South Asian communities by advancing the field of South Asian public health through interactions among health professionals and shared resources, focusing on research, education, communication and advocacy in the United States.

SAPHA History

SAPHA was established in the spring of 1999 by a group of individuals in an effort to raise awareness about public health issues of South Asians in the U.S. In 2001, SAPHA was formalized with the formation of a Board of Directors and attained 501(c)3 non-profit status. In 2002, SAPHA received wide recognition with the release of a ground-breaking report, A Brown Paper: the Health of South Asians in the United States, which reviewed research and literature on South Asian health in the United States, and an updated version was released in 2015. Since its first publication, SAPHA has successfully passed many milestones in promoting the health and well-being of South Asians throughout the United State. For more information about SAPHA, please see our website at www.sapha.org.

About the SAPHA Board

SAPHA is a vol u n t e er - r un org a n i z ation and cannot f unc t i o n wi t ho u t  t he ded i c a t i o n of i t s B o a r d mem b e r s, e a ch of whom is  e xpected to exem p lify the b e st of SAPH A . The Board is a d y n a mic a n d hard w o r ki n g t e am of professionals f r om across the United States. We seek to elect diverse, passionate, and dedicated Board members who represent a variety of interests and backgrounds applicable to public health in areas such as health disparit i es, mental heal t h, c l i n ical ca r e, health prom o t i on, and dis e ase c on trol and prevention  a c t ivities. No m i n e e s  a re e x p ected to have a strong commitment to the health and well-being of South Asians and the communities in which they live, as well as strong leadership qualities to help realize and further SAPHA's mission through collaboration with other Board members and mentorship of SAPHA members. Serving on the SAPHA Board is a time-intensive yet rewarding public service endeavor and we invite you to join our efforts!

• Serve a two-year term beginning in January 2019. Newly elected Board members should plan to participate in the 2018 SAPHA Board Retreat (November 11, 2018) by phone or in-person (San Diego, CA). Additionally, a Board transition call and orientation will occur in December 2015, which all new Board members are required to attend.
• Contribute financially through paying annual Board membership dues ($150) prior to the first Board meeting of each calendar year;
• Participate actively in monthly Board meetings/conference calls;
• Be actively involved in at least one SAPHA committee;
• Strategize SAPHA goals and objectives and support the development and maintenance of SAPHA initiatives, policies and procedures;
• Support the business affairs of SAPHA;
• Participate in organizational fund-raising and awareness-building efforts;
• Complete assigned work between meetings in a timely and reliable manner;
• Travel to the Annual SAPHA Board retreat and participate either in-person or by conference call for a mid-year retreat each year, with the understanding that SAPHA Board members do not receive financial compensation for their services and activities related to SAPHA, although costs expended for SAPHA purposes may be eligible for reimbursement if prior approval is obtained;
• Assist on various projects as necessary, including the review, editing and approval of SAPHA materials prior to dissemination to the public;
• Promote the work of SAPHA through professional and responsible representation of SAPHA and the Board. 

 

In March 2017, SAPHA released The Health of South Asians in the United States: An Evidence based Guide for Policy and Program Development, published by Routledge, a division of Taylor & Francis.

Dr. Memoona Hasnain, Professor and Interim Head in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is the lead editor of the book, with co-editors Punam Parikh of UCLA School of Medicine and Dr. Nitasha Chaudhary Nagaraj of The George Washington University. Dr. Hasnain says that while South Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing minority populations in the U.S., there is a disturbing lack of research dedicated to health care issues specific to this group. "For many years, South Asian Americans were considered a 'model minority'; this erroneous perception that people from South Asian countries always achieve social and economic success has created a gap in our understanding of the significant health disparities experienced by this group." Hasnain serves as the president of SAPHA and previously served as the Chair of SAPHA's Research Committee. She credits the ongoing work of this group to expand the body of research available about South Asian American health care issues as the inspiration for the new book.

The Health of South Asians in the United States: An Evidence-based Guide for Policy and Program Development defines South  Asian Americans as people living in the U.S. with ancestral roots in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. "South Asian Americans bring with them unique languages, cultures, religions and perspectives that directly impact their health related practices," Hasnain said. "Unless we take the time to understand patients as whole people, it will always be a challenge to provide patient-centered and culturally-competent care, specifically in this increasingly understudied and vulnerable population." Of the major health disparities discussed in the book, Hasnain and her colleagues call attention to the significantly high rates of chronic conditions and co-morbidities, intimate partner violence and tobacco use in the South Asian American community. The book outlines these and other health disparities and discusses research-based recommendations to help improve and support the health and well-being of South Asian Americans.

"This book builds on our continuum of education, awareness, scholarship, advocacy and action to address the health needs of minority and vulnerable populations at the patient, provider and systems levels," Hasnain said. "We hope the information in this book will be widely used and applied for best practices, teaching and would spark for future research. We also hope this work will advance our understanding about interdisciplinary approaches to enhancing health and well-being of South Asian Americans and continue our efforts to reduce health disparities for minority populations."

The book was recently reviewed in Family Medicine, the official journal of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, which publishes research and content relevant to the discipline of family medicine, particularly focusing on primary care medical education, health workforce policy, and health services research. Read the review here. The book is available both on Amazon.com and Routledge.com.