Our Health, Our Community Report

Chronic diseases disproportionately affect many communities in the US. But Filipino Americans suffer a higher rate of chronic diseases specifically hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and overweight/obesity compared to other populations. Although research is available to deeply understand this health disparity, there are still limitations in research and public health data focused on the Filipino community.

Under the lead of SOMCAN’s “Our Health/Kalusugan, Our Community/Bayan” program, a community health assessment report was created to look at how chronic diseases affect the lives of Filipinos in San Francisco. The purpose of this report is to better understand the Filipino community’s behaviors, perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and other built environmental factors that increases and lowers their risk for chronic diseases. The report was focused on 3 SF neighborhoods: South of Market, Tenderloin, and Excelsior.

The health assessment findings aim to: 1) guide SOMCAN’s development on the community’s health and wellness activities, as well as culturally-appropriate chronic disease prevention and educational materials; and 2) inform the organization’s policy advocacy and environmental strategies. Along with the report, an infographic was also produced and released last July 2020 to further present summary findings of the health assessment.

This program was made possible by the San Francisco Public Health Foundation, Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax Healthy Communities Grants Program.

For those who want a copy of the report, SOMCAN will be posting it on their public website and a downloadable copy can be requested.

For other information regarding “Our Health/Kalusugan, Our Community/Bayan” program, please contact Alyssa Daulat at adaulat@somcan.org