272459 Health Equity in the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Community

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 2:55 PM - 3:06 PM

Kathy Lim Ko, MS , Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), San Francisco, CA
Priscilla Huang, JD , Policy Division, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Washington, DC
Winston Tseng, PhD , Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, San Francisco, CA
Paulo Pontemayor, MPH* , Policy Division, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Washington, DC
Jasmine Abbas , The VENG Group, Washington, DC
The past few years have seen significant investments in our nation's health infrastructure and a move toward achieving health equity. Health equity is the ability of all persons to achieve their highest health status – health status that is viewed holistically and includes physical and mental health, economic sufficiency and safety. We cannot achieve health equity unless we first understand and document community health disparities. Data and research are important tools that can help build this evidence base and ensure adequate support for quality health care and prevention for all, especially for underserved populations such as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AAs and NHPIs).

The lack of research and information on AAs and NHPIs – in contrast to the information available on other communities – has made it difficult to assess health needs and develop evidence-based interventions. This presentation will describe how AAs and NHPIs continue to experience health disparities stemming from unequal access to quality care, difficulties finding affordable health insurance, and the intersection of language barriers, immigration status and culture. AAs and NHPIs are the fastest growing racial groups in the U.S., and will become increasingly important to our nation's health. We will discuss potential opportunities and public-private partnerships through the implementation of the Affordable Care Act's data collection requirements for advancing health equity across AAs and NHPIs and other communities. Further, we will discuss legislative strategies for developing data policy recommendations through our work with the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2011 and 2012.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe how Asian Americans experience health disparities. 2. Discuss potential opportunities and public/private partnerships that advance health equity. 3. Explain the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2012.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Asian Americans

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the President and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, a national health justice organization which influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. I am a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health and have worked in a number of health care settings and community clinics across the country.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.