Collection of Local Asian American Health Data Closes Health Disparity Gaps

Abstract

Lack of disaggregated health data for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) continues to be a barrier to identifying and addressing health disparities in the AAPI population. Because the AAPI population is relatively small, health surveillance groups frequently overlook or disregard them in their data collection, often citing that AAPIs are “difficult to reach,” or that it is too costly to include them in data sets. This brief addresses these barriers and demonstrates that when there is sufficient support from policymakers, committed academic partnerships, and genuine engagement of the community, scientifically sound health data can be collected in a cost efficient manner. Such data not only identifies health needs, but also may generate significant benefits to communities, health planners and researchers and can lead to funding to address those needs.