Acculturation and Health in Asian American Communities: Time for a Reset

To date, public health literature has treated acculturation as a static determinant of health in Asian American communities without offering actionable recommendations. Four limitations exist in current research: use of proxies for acculturation, focusing on cultural practices (not values and identity), not considering the context of reception for Asian American individuals in the receiving country, and ignoring time and digitalization. We recommend researchers use validated scales, contextualize findings in time and the global context, and consider multi-level influences in sending/receiving countries. A nuanced approach will allow for the unpacking of associations with the acculturation process and ultimately translation into actionable research.