Shedding light on how data inequity leads to health inequity
On September 26th, SoCal PICRT and the California Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health Equity Coalition co-hosted a report launch for “Invisibility is Killing Us”. The report summarizes Pacific Islander and Asian American experiences with California county public health departments' collection and reporting of public health data. Funded by the Office of Minority Health, the report was born from a need to address data inequity and its very real consequences on AANHPI communities, evidenced by the testimonies shared during the event.
Peter Gee of the Little Tokyo Service Center spoke about the tragic loss of beloved friend, Nick Song, whose passing reflected a systemic issue with data collection. The CDPH had previously determined that the AAPI community is not considered a priority population to receive suicide prevention funds.
Isa Sasi of SoCal PICRT emphasized the practice of isolation as necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19. This necessary but unfamiliar practice went against many shared beliefs in the NHPI Community about gathering in difficult times. This was especially challenging when community members were passing from COVID-19 at five times the rate of other groups in LA County alone.
MeleNaite Fifita of Pacific Islander Health Partnership (PIHP) opened up about the experiences of Community Health Workers (Navigators) during the pandemic and how inaccurate data collection required CHWs to advocate the Orange County Health Department to reevaluate the qualifications for vaccination.
As summarized by SoCal PICRT’s ‘Alisi Tulua, “Our stories are the most important pieces of data we have in this work.” The report launch brought forth these three unique, yet shockingly common stories about how a lack of accurate data translates into the lack of support the AANHPI community receives. The problem here is very clear: Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans in California are invisible in health data and that invisibility kills us. Data aggregation exacerbates health inequities and denies us the ability to be healthy.
To uncover these disparities, “Invisibility is Killing Us” took a closer look at reporting standards, policy practices and adoption at local health departments through a legal mapping study. Some key findings include:
11 of 39 health departments in California abide by federal 1997 OMB-15 policy
6 of 39 health departments have their own standards for collecting and reporting racial and ethnic data.
Solano County is the only health department that goes further to disaggregate Pacific Islander and Asian American data by subgroups.
The report shares many valuable findings and community-based recommendations for county and state level health departments, guided by the principle of achieving data equity for AANHPI communities. Recommendations based on the team’s findings can be found on page 7 of the report. A statewide standard for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data is among those recommendations.
The project’s principal investigator Cevadne Lee emphasized, “This work doesn’t get solved in three years.” In fact, the group acknowledges this project as an extension of advocacy in the AANHPI community that has gone on for decades. Following the report launch, the team looks forward to sharing out the information further in the community, and working with local and state agencies on implementing recommendations to promote data equity, visibility, and resource allocation for AANHPI communities.
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