Oral

The purpose of this session is to discuss practical approaches to building community capacity to advocate for health and influence health policy that are impacting Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Given the current political climate of health care reform, efforts to build community capacity and promote advocacy are paramount to ensuring that policies include attributes, which improve Asian and Pacific Islander health prospects.

Session Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to: (1) Discuss economic changes and cultural influences that have contributed to the Non-Communicable Disease State of Emergency in the US – Affiliated Pacific Islands; 2) Identify relevance of network analysis to public health practice and research, and to the promotion of health equity for Asian Pacific Islanders; 3) Identify healthcare workforce needs and challenges to recruitment of health care professionals who serve the non- or limited English-speaking Chinese population; 4) discuss strategies to help build a network of Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) cancer and public health advocates who will ensure that AA and NHPI voices are strongly represented in local, state, and national policy-making and research-reviewing bodies.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)