We are not "Other or Unknown!"
Although traditionally grouped together or not included in any data category, there are many subgroups within Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, each with unique cultures and histories. Data that provides information particular to each group and primary language are critical to monitoring disparities in health status and access to health care for certain Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander subgroups as well as critical to improving such care.
For racial/ethnic groups with a relatively small number of members, such as Asian Americans,
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives, there is often inadequate data to identify salient health issues and appropriate interventions and solutions to those issues. Such data is often not collected, collected but not analyzed, or not reported due to inadequate sampling.
APIAHF works to increase data & research on AA and NHPI communities by supporting:
• Standardized collection of data on race, ethnicity, and primary language;
• Efforts to collect data in hospitals and health care organizations;
• Increased data collection and reporting by federal agencies;
• A Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health survey to collect baseline data
• Funding to improve Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health data through the use of translated surveys, bilingual interviewers, oversampling, community-based participatory research, and data collection at regional, state, and local levels.
Resources must be dedicated to assure that data collecting agencies can adequately capture information about small minority populations with regards to health, education, employment, and many other socioeconomic factors vital to decreasing health disparities. Research and evaluation of strategies that address the intersection of health and other social and economic factors must be included in the development of model programs.
When data show that community specific disparities exist, evidence-based health programming must be supported and implemented at the national level, such as a federal mandate for routine Hepatitis B vaccination for high-risk populations and continued support for the Minority AIDS Initiative and the National Culturally-Specific Institutes on Domestic Violence.
It is important for communities to have an equitable voice in research to ensure that the research is relevant, and that the design and content will meet the needs of those served. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) provides a foundation for communities to have an equitable say in how research is conducted.
Community Based Participatory Research
Community representatives must be engaged in formal review processes and research allocation processes; academic institutions must strengthen their commitment to support CBPR as part of their community benefit obligations; and communities must be provided with the training and technical assistance to engage fully in partnerships with academic institutions.
Enriching health care data to provide information particular to the distinct groups within diverse Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities is the first step in providing policy makers, public health experts, local leaders and service providers with the ability to set priorities and allocate resources to address particular disparities in our communities.
