Examination of health conditions of enabling services users at community health centers serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

Preliminary evidence based on provider experiences at health centers suggest that enabling services, such as interpretation, play critical roles in improving health for underserved populations. However, there have been no definitive studies to support this claim due in part to the current lack of enabling services data collection and evaluation to demonstrate its broad health center impact on quality care. Without sufficient understanding of their impacts, enabling services will continue to be inadequately financed, if at all. This project examines the association between enabling services use and the health diagnoses of patients at three community health centers serving predominantly Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). The community health centers are Bureau of Primary Health Care federally qualified health centers located in Hawaii, New York, and Washington. We assessed eight categories of enabling services (including case management, interpretation, transportation, eligibility assistance, and health education) and primary health diagnoses. Preliminary analyses indicated that Enabling Service (ES) Users were more likely to be non-white, older, female, and uninsured compared to ES Non-Users (p<.05). ES Users also had a higher incidence of chronic conditions whereas Non-Users had a higher incidence of acute conditions. The presentation will provide an updated overview of the demographics and health conditions of enabling service users compared to non-users. Overall, the project aims to provide a better understanding of the enabling services utilization by AAPIs and useful information to help policy makers effectively address the critical health center needs in serving underserved AAPIs.