A Model to Help Eliminate Health Disparities among Diverse Asian Americans

The Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) was established in 2004 to eliminate health disparities that exist between Asian Americans and non-Asian counterparts in Montgomery County, Maryland. AAHI's mission is to identify the health care needs, develop culturally and linguistically competent health services, and implement health education programs that are accessible and available to all Asian Americans in Montgomery County. Since 2006, AAHI has served nearly 2,400 Asian Americans with different cultural and language backgrounds and has conducted numerous health fairs and outreach activities with the county's diverse Asian American communities. As the first health-focused agency for Asian Americans in Montgomery County, AAHI has developed key programs including the health promoter program which works with community partners to provide culturally appropriate health screenings and to deliver health education. The Patient Navigators program was developed to reduce language barriers that continue to prevent Asian Americans from accessing quality health services consistently by utilizing certified interpreters to provide medical interpretation on-site and over the phone. In an effort to prioritize the health needs and develop programs to respond to the community's needs, AAHI commissioned a needs assessment study in 2008 to examine the health status of the Asian American community and provide recommendations to guide AAHI toward its mission to eliminate health disparities among Asian Americans. This presentation will provide an overview of AAHI, present key needs assessment findings and recommendations, discuss the successes and challenges of AAHI, and raise awareness of the culturally appropriate resources that are available through AAHI.