Report

Summary: American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people are underrepresented and often invisible in public health data and research. AIAN health data capacity is impeded by the quality of information collected, released, and reported on AIANs in population-based surveys. AIANs are either put in a residual “other” category or, typically, depicted as single-race non-Latinx AIANs.  Findings: Though the figure varies substantially across federal surveys, fewer than two in five AIANs report as single-race non-Latinx AIANs. Drawing population inferences based on single-race AIANs also fails to capture the considerable segment of the AIAN population that comprises individuals of more than one race. [...]

Racial and ethnic health disparities and inequities can only be eliminated if high-quality information is available by which to track immediate problems and the underlying social determinants of health. Such information can guide the design and application of culturally specific approaches to medicine and public health. Often, health outcomes are disaggregated only by broad racial and ethnic categories such as White, Black, or Hispanic. However, the great, and growing, diversity of the American population means that people’s actual experiences are much more specific. The U.S. has numerous compelling reasons to build and maintain a much more robust practice of disaggregating data [...]

The purpose of the study is to describe the current practice of data collection and reporting for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) groups in health-related population surveys. The group makes up 6 percent of the U.S. population based on the 2010 Census and is estimated to account for 11 percent by 2050. Authors present a scan of the current sources of AANHPI data on health and health-related determinants, and provide insights on the challenges population-based surveys face in collecting and reporting data to inform policies and programs targeted towards AANHPI populations. California Health Interview Survey is examined as [...]