ASU, Asian/Pacific Islander group to team up on health project

The Center for Health Information & Research at Arizona State University has joined a coalition to improve the health of the Asian/Pacific Islander community in Maricopa County.

The center was awarded a subcontract to work with the Asian Pacific Community in Action, which received a four-year, $600,000 grant from the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. This grant represents the first time a private national foundation has partnered with a national Asian and Pacific Islander organization to address health disparities, said Doug Hirano, APCA executive director.

The Valley is home to more than 120,000 Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security and the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Grant funding will be used to develop a data system to track the health status and needs of the Asian/Pacific Islander community and its use of health services. The Asian Pacific Community in Action, or APCA, also will develop and implement a cancer screening and prevention plan, Hirano said. "One of the key components of our initiative is to build a solid understanding of the health behaviors and health care utilization patterns of the local Asian and Pacific Islander residents," he said. "With its massive database, CHIR will be a key source of this information."

William Johnson, director of ASU's CHIR, said this effort is one of several CHIR projects examining the disparities in health care.

"It is another example of the power of the community university-partnership that is unique to Arizona," he said.

Johnson said he expects to issue a full report on the health of the Valley's Asian/Pacific Islanders in the second year of the project.