Clinical Quality Indicators of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander Patients Seen at Health Resources and Services Administration-Supported Community Health Centers

Abstract

The Health Resources and Services Administration supports federally qualified health centers that provide health care services to more than 21.7 million low-income and medically underserved patients, the majority being racial/ethnic minorities. Nationally, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) represent 1.3 percent of all health center patients; however, NHPIs constitute more than half of the patients for some health centers. National data of health center clinical quality indicators were analyzed to explore potential differences between Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American patients. Even among a group of medically underserved patients, health disparities were found in NHPIs, illustrating the relevance of disaggregating data in identifying idiosyncratic differences deserving culturally appropriate interventions.