I have been doing research on Filipino sleep health for the Health of Philippine Emigrants Study (HoPES) with the University of Alaska, Anchorage for a little over a year now. As a research assistant, I coordinate, schedule, and conduct interviews with Filipinos who recently migrated to the US. Last week I was given the privilege to present our current findings at the annual meeting for the American Public Health Association (APHA) at the Asian Pacific Islander poster session.
It was a liberating experience.
To be able to share stories that aren’t widely told.
To share stories that hit home for me.
To share stories that reflect that of my family, my community.
And to do it on a platform this public.
When I tell people I study Filipino sleep health, I enjoy the astonishment in their eyes.
What I study is so much a niche but I hope it doesn’t stay like that for long.
We might be one of the only studies looking at Filipino sleep health at the moment but I hope this is just the beginning. We deserve to learn more about our lived experiences in the Filipino diaspora and we deserve to better our health and quality of life.
This "job" is really a passion project so to be able to connect with others and other Fil-Am at the poster session was truly gratifying.
One Fil-Am public health professional approached the poster and immediately told me as his right hand panned across the poster, “This whole research here is my mom…She doesn’t get good sleep…but she’s gotten used to it.”
There.
That’s the key phrase.
“Gotten used to it.”
If I made a word cloud of most common words or phrases from across our interviews, “I don’t get good sleep, but I’ve gotten used to it,” would be up there as one of the most common.
One of the biggest insights I have gained from interviewing 60 Filipino migrant respondents from across the United States is a shared experience of downplaying their struggle and minimizing their sleep. That in several cases, whatever they go through here now in the States is far better off than back home in the Philippines. So if they don’t get enough sleep, that is something they just have to deal with and get used to.
I see my parents in these interviews. My Titas. My Titos. My Lola. My Lolo. My cousins. My friends.
It inspires me to do better. To do more than simply listen and learn and research but to one day be in a position to improve their health and quality of life.
Until then, I will continue to share this work and these stories so that our collective struggle and resilience is recognized.
**If you would like to learn more about the poster, here is a direct link to the PDF: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.me-qr.com/pdf/10566356.pdf
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