Philadelphia residents who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander speak different languages and represent different cultures with different histories and perspectives. In recent years, the number of residents in this group has increased by 38% from 97,149 in 2010 to 134,485 in 2020, making it one of the fastest growing populations in the city. Therefore, it is important to understand their health concerns and priorities.
However, there are problems understanding some of these concerns, and they have to do with how most health data is collected. Data is typically collected in only a few languages, excluding those who speak less common languages or who are uncomfortable completing surveys in English. And people who identify as Asian American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander are typically not given the option to share detailed information about their race or ethnicity, so for example, a Philadelphian It has become impossible to distinguish whether a person is of Japanese or Cambodian descent. As a result, health departments are often unable to capture the diverse health needs of a given community.
But we are working to change that.
unique project
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) recently explored how partnering with community-based organizations can improve data collection and analysis practices in Asian American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander communities. We partnered on a unique project to learn how we can improve our products. .
Since 1966, PCDC has advocated for approximately 37,000 Chinese Americans in Philadelphia, providing bilingual services in affordable housing, social services, economic revitalization, neighborhood planning, and health equity. . Through their track record of building trust and leveraging partnerships to provide essential services to their communities, we realized there is much to learn from their approach and connections with many organizations.
This project had two goals.
Learn from the experiences of PCDC and other community leaders in collecting diverse data representative of their communities and integrate these learnings into best practices for data collection and outreach to Philadelphia’s historically underserved communities. Informs the Department of Health’s strategy to improve data representation in the region.
To learn more about PCDC’s experience with data collection efforts, the Department of Health is collaborating with PCDC to investigate COVID-19 infections among Philadelphians who identify as Asian American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. We analyzed data from a large survey on vaccination barriers and attitudes. The survey results pointed out that language barriers, schedule conflicts with clinic hours, and lack of transportation are obstacles to vaccination. Lack of trust was a common theme among those who were negative about vaccines, and concerns varied widely by ethnicity and zip code of residence. Detailed findings are summarized in data summaries and published in English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Bengali, Khmer, Korean, and Vietnamese.
To identify best practices for data collection, PCDC interviewed volunteers who conducted COVID-19 vaccination surveys. PCDC also interviewed community leaders who serve a diverse population in Philadelphia, including Cambodian, Southeast Asian, Chinese, and immigrant and refugee communities. The insights gained from these interviews mirror our findings. Survey administrators and community leaders emphasize the importance of planning data collection in multiple languages and trusting it as an essential part of working with Philadelphia’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. repeatedly insisted on building a
Barriers and challenges to health equity
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many structural barriers and challenges to achieving health equity. It also found that public health efforts, including data collection and sharing, are most successful when they are carried out in partnership with local communities. This recognition helped shape the Department of Health’s Health and Racial Equity Plan, released in November 2023, with data justice emerging as a guiding principle. Data justice aims to ensure that health data is collected, used, and shared to prioritize and reflect the needs of our communities. Insights from this project will inform the Department of Health’s Strategic Action Plan for Data Justice.
Partnerships improve access to health services
PCDC Director John Chin said, “This project is an example of how public-nonprofit partnerships can lead to systemic change to improve access to health services to historically underserved communities. “This shows that there is a possibility of a connection.”
Dr. Megan Todd, chief epidemiologist at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, agreed.
“Standard health data on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, or Pacific Islanders are often sparse, unrepresentative, and incomplete,” Dr. Todd said. “Addressing these gaps is essential to reducing health disparities and achieving health equity, a core goal of the health sector. This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the diverse experiences and challenges of communities. It highlights how important it is to work with community-based organizations to achieve this goal.”
“We applaud the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s efforts to assess and correct health disparities in our region,” said Ariela Rojani, director of the Partnership for Healthy Cities. “All Philadelphians have the right to access culturally sensitive and sensitive prevention and treatment services.”
This partnership reflects a step toward understanding the diverse health needs of Philadelphia’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander communities, and reflects community needs and representation in health data collection and use. , emphasizes the importance of working to integrate into the way you share.
The project is technically and financially supported by the Healthy Cities Partnership, a global network of 74 cities committed to saving lives by preventing non-communicable diseases and injuries, and by the World Health Organization. and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with the World Health Organization Vital. strategy.
