A special thank you to Lauren Jiang, CSD '24, and the MVCE Office for their work on curating resources for this guide.
Do you need personal assistance from a librarian? Submit your question using our Ask a Librarian service and we will answer you through e-mail. If you prefer, we can also be reached by telephone, online chat, in person, or video chat.
Bellack Library wants to make sure that, as health professions students, you have access to reputable resources to help provide the best care to your future patients, colleagues, and yourself.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) represent a diverse group of people from over 60 different cultures and ethnic groups who come from Central, East, Southeast, South, and West Asia and those from Hawaii and the Pacific Islands (Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-based Violence, 2019). People included under this umbrella may have Caribbean, African, or African American ancestries. Immigrants will likely have a different lived experiences that may impact their health differently than those born in the United States. For example, patients whose native language is something other than English will likely require resources in their native language to better ensure their compliance with medical treatment (Anderson et al., 2003).
We know that being culturally competent, effective, or practicing cultural humility is important for improved health outcomes (Handtke et al., 2019). Studies have found that the “perceived cultural competency affected the degree of trust and collaboration within the services network when addressing the needs of recent immigrant families. Competence trust toward other providers increased the desire and commitment to work together, while lack of competence trust created avoidance. (Isaacs et al., 2013).”
Some of the major health disparities in the AANHPI communities include:
This guide contains resources to help you make educated decisions regarding a variety of topics that influence the health of the wide range of AANHPI communities. The guide is broken up into 4 main sections: an introduction to the topic, resources for AANHPI students and practitioners, resources for caring for AANHPI patients, and helpful library research tools.
In this guide, you will find:
Please explore the resources in this guide and reach out to us through Ask a Librarian if you have any questions or would like further assistance.
Children of Color, 2nd ed. [print] by 
Cultural, Ethnic, and Religious Reference Manual for Healthcare Providers by 
Cultural Competence in Health Education and Health Promotion by 
Culture and occupation: Effectiveness for occupational therapy practice, education and research by 
Dementia, Culture and Ethnicity by 
Essentials of Health, Culture, and Diversity Understanding People, Reducing Disparities by 
Growing up Asian by 
Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education by 
Minority populations and health: An introduction to health disparities in the United States, 1st ed. by 
Physical Activity in Diverse Populations by 
Qualitative Research and Intercultural Understanding by 
Race, Ethnicity, and Health by 
The South Asian Health Solution by We know leisure or recreational reading is important for students. We know that reading can help reduce psychological distress in college students (Levine et al., 2022; Viqar et al., 2018; Watson, 2015). But we also know that time constraints can be a problem that makes it hard to take time to read. For those of you who have time (or maybe you’re on break?), Boston Public Library offers free library eCards for MA residents (and for those living in MA while attending school in-state or who work for a MA employer). These free eCards allow you to access their online resources (which includes large collection of eBooks/AudioBooks/and more from OverDrive and Hoopla).
While we’re here, we wanted to also point out that BPL have a ton of relevant staff-curated reading lists that may be of interest to you:
