Unified in Our Diversity to Address Health Disparities Among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

Joseph Keawe'aimoku Kaholokula; Mona AuYoung; Michelle Chau; Usha Sambamoorthi; Savanna Carson; Chia Thao; May Nguyen; Audrey Alo; Sheldon Riklon; Tana Lepule; Grace X Ma

doi:10.1089/heq.2022.0034

Unified in Our Diversity to Address Health Disparities Among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders

Health Equity. 2022 Jul 20;6(1):540-545. doi: 10.1089/heq.2022.0034. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Native Hawaiian Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA.
² Department of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
³ Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York City, New York, USA.
⁴ Department of Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy and Texas Center for Health Disparities, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
⁵ Department of Public Health, University of California, Merced, California, USA.
⁶ Department of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Houston College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁷ Pacific Islander Health Partnership, Garden Grove, California, USA.
⁸ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Center for Pacific Islander Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.
⁹ Pacific Islander Collective of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Urban Health and Population Science, Center for Asian Health and Fox Chase Cancer Center, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA/NHPIs) in the United States. AA/NHPIs have historically been subjected to discrimination, which was exacerbated by the pandemic. To bring attention to their unique concerns, an AA/NHPI Interest Group of the National Institutes of Health Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities (CEAL) was formed. This article highlights major concerns raised by the Interest Group: The pervasive and arbitrary practice of data aggregation by public health agencies and health-related researchers, the lack of culturally responsive services in the context of cultural safety, and leadership underrepresentation.

Keywords: Asian American; COVID-19; Native Hawaiian; Pacific Islander; health disparities.

Abstract

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