Chandak Ghosh, MD, MPH

1999-2000

Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 2, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, New York, NY

2001

2000

Pages

Data Linkage Analysis to Address Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: An Assessment of State Maternal Child Health Bureaus

Abstract:

With regards to minority health, the President’s Initiative on Race has listed six areas in which to eliminate healthcare disparities: Infant Mortality, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, HIV/AIDS Infection, Diabetes, and Immunization.  These have been codified in the goals of Healthy People 2010 guidelines for improving the country’s health.  Historically, however, the health information with regard to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) has remained scant.  This is because of the comparatively small numbers of AAPI’s, the huge diversity within this group, the propagation of this being a “model minority,” confusion with regards to “minority” versus “underrepresented minority,” and AAPI’s having the fewest number of Healthy People 2000 objectives. Demographers have noted, however, that AAPI’s, who currently stand at about 12 million (4 percent of the US population), are expected to reach 41 million (11 percent) by 2050.  This group represents persons with origins from at least 29 Asian countries and 20 Pacific Island cultures.  As this is the fastest growing minority population in America, in June, 1999, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13125 which calls on all federal departments to mobilize their resources to address the unmet needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

To fulfill the common aims of the White House Initiative and Healthy People 2010, researchers and policy makers need to understand where to concentrate their efforts.  This study begins the compilation of the existing data with regards to Asian American health in order to define a baseline from which to progress.  To see the extent of research the Federal government has sponsored, the CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) database was analyzed from years 1986 to 2000.  This includes projects supported by seven agencies including NIH, HRSA, and CDCP.  All retrieved initiatives involving AAPI’s were divided by sub-population (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, etc.), gender, and age-group; as well as by each of the six areas of healthcare disparity listed in the President’s Initiative on Race.  Studies cataloged in MEDLINE from 1966 to 2000 were scrutinized similarly.

This data was then compared to demographic information (population projections, areas of concentration in the U.S., etc) with regards to AAPI sub-populations.  Areas of investigation still needed to fulfill Healthy People 2010 disparities goals were identified.

Future work will include compiling results from AAPI initiatives funded by U.S. states, foundations, and community organizations.

Preceptor:

Betty Lee Hawks, Special Assistant to the Director, Office of Minority Health, DHHS