Check out the recording of a national webinar on Exploring Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Identity and Health Equity hosted by County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. This webinar addressed populations that are often excluded in conversations about health equity.
One interesting key point of the webinar was that the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander categories that are used to collect much of the data in our country are constructs. There is much diversity within the groups that have been lumped together in these broad categories, and this has masked some real health disparities in local communities.
If community practitioners do not see the differences and disaggregate the data, they may unintentionally contribute to inequities in their communities.
Another key point of the webinar was that past policies and practices have not only perpetuated harmful stereotypes about Asian Americans, but they have also intentionally pitted Asian American and Black communities against one another.
Submitted by: Joanne Lee, MPH, RD