The ethnic subpopulations that make up Boston's Asian/Pacific Islander (API) population are very diverse, varying in culture, customs, language, and religion. Often, these variations also extend into different health status indicators, such as those related to maternal and child health. The Office of Research, Health Assessment, and Data Systems (ORHADS) in the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) routinely collects, analyzes, and reports on the maternal and child health of Boston residents.
Analysis of data on APIs without concentrating on their various subpopulations can result in a failure to identify disparities in maternal and child health indicators which may exist. For example, in the Boston population, disparities exist in prenatal care rates for Vietnamese and Cambodian women. They are lower compared with women in other API subpopulations. Low birthweight births (<2500 grams) and gestational age of <37 weeks are also highest among Vietnamese and Chinese women.
The ability to analyze data at the subpopulation level allows for identification of disparities within the Asian/Pacific Islander population that would otherwise be hidden and enables more effective planning of interventions to eliminate those disparities.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, all participants should be able to do the following: 1. Learn that aggregating all Asian/Pacific Islanders (API) ethnicities or "race" into a single category has the potential to mask disparities in health outcomes and risk factors which occur among different cultural or ethnic subgroups. 2. Gain a better understanding of the variability in perinatal outcomes and characteristics among API subgroups in Boston
Keywords: Asian and Pacific Islander Women, Maternal and Child Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.