With regards to minority health, the Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) guidelines have codified six areas in which to eliminate healthcare disparities: Infant Mortality, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, HIV/AIDS Infection, Diabetes, and Immunizations. Historically, however, health information with regards to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI's) has remained scant. The situation has become critical as AAPI's are American's fastest growing minority group--expected to reach 41 million by 2050 (11% of the population). To fulfill the aims of HP2010, researchers and policy makers need to understand where to concentrate their efforts. This study begins the compilation of the existing data with regards to AAPI health in order to define a baseline from which to progress. To see the extent of research the Federal government has sponsored, the CRISP database was analyzed from years 1986 to 2000. All retrieved initiatives involving AAPI's were divided by sub-population as well as by each of the six areas of healthcare disparity listed in HP2010. Studies cataloged in MEDLINE from 1966 to 2000 were scrutinized similarly. Results include that, of all the Federal health-related grants from 1986 to 2000, only 0.2% mentions AAPI's as a target population of study. Of the articles in MEDLINE from 1966 to 2000, only 0.01% mentions AAPI's. For the six health areas as listed in HP2010, there are significant gaps in existing data with regards to AAPI's. Recommendations to reach HP2010 goals and to obtain useful data for the AAPI community are included.
Learning Objectives: (1) To understand how Asian American/Pacific Islander health objectives have been incorporated into Healthy People 2010; (2)To investigate the amount of existing AAPI research the US government and academia have supported to this point.
Keywords: Asian and Pacific Islander, Health Information
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.