Enabling Services Accountability Project – a Community-Based Participatory Research Process at Community Health Centers Serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) through community health centers (CHCs) is central to reducing health disparities for medically underserved Asian American, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islander (AA&NHOPIs). Yet relatively few CHCs have had experience with research. The Enabling Services Accountability Project is a collaborative CBPR effort between the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) and four CHCs serving predominantly AA&NHOPIs. Enabling services (ES) are non-clinical services such as interpretation and financial counseling that are provided to increase access and quality of care. However, comprehensive data collection and examination of ES has been lacking at CHCs largely due to their limited research capacity and resources. This has been a crucial barrier to securing financial support for these essential services. This project aims to assist CHCs to build their capacity for ES documentation and examination, as well as provide a better understanding of ES utilization and its impact on health. With the participation of CHCs and their communities, a standardized ES data collection model was developed together with uniform definitions of nine categories of ES. The project also assisted CHCs in developing an ES database and incorporating it into their EMR systems. The proposed presentation will provide an overview of the project and the challenges and opportunities CHCs faced during the CBPR process. Overall, the collaboration has helped CHCs document ES for funding and build a foundation for research. It also helped CHCs better understand ES utilization and impact, and enabled them to evaluate staff and allocate resources more effectively.