 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Junko Honma, MSW, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, 439 23rd Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-272-9536, jhonma@aapcho.org
States in the Midwest and mountain states, such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah and Montana experienced a primary migration of Southeast Asian refugees during the 1970s. Some of these states have seen their Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations more than double in the last decade. Despite the growing AAPI population and its corresponding health concerns, primary health care services targeting the diverse needs of this population have yet to surface. In addition to this lack of infrastructure, there is a vast shortage of culturally and linguistically appropriate services, preventive health care services, and mental health services, to accommodate AAPI needs.
Since 1997, the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) has supported pomoting health care access in these regions through its Promoting Access to Healthcare (PATH) program. Through PATH, AAPCHO has convened regional advisory meetings to identify growing AAPI communities and their health issues; provided technical assistance by linking them to existing resources and preparing profiles of these communities; and, provided them with mini-grants to improve their capacity to promote their health care access.
The proposed presentation will provide an overview of PATH's community building activities, AAPI health issues in the Midwest and mountain states identified at regional meetings, the outcomes of PATH mini-grant and technical assistance activities, community health data including State Information Sheets, and lessons learned from health care access promotion strategies attempted in these communities.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Access to Health Care, Community Building
Related Web page: www.aapcho.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.