The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68858

Lok Wong, MHS and Joslyn Maula. Asian and Pacific Islander Partnership for Health, 3000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington D.C, DC 20008, (202) 986-2393, wong@ncqa.org

There is tremendous interest in racial disparities in health care including services received, accessing care and obtaining health insurance coverage. Multiple factors contribute to racial disparities in health care. However a crosscutting issue for minorities in the United States is the lack of appropriate language interpretation services at multiple points along the health and social service system that exacerbates the problem. For many immigrant ethnic groups, language is the first barrier to accessing social and health care services that bring them into the community and its support structures.

In implementing a program to improve access to care for local Chinese communities in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, the Asian and Pacific Islander Partnership for Health (APIPH) found language to be the main barrier for immigrants’ poor awareness of and enrollment in government-sponsored health insurance programs. Through this case management program to assist immigrants obtain health insurance and health care services, we found failures across the system to provide adequate language interpretation services: from insurance enrollment to scheduling health care visits and getting needed health care. Despite federal and state requirements for interpretation services, requirements are poorly implemented and enforced without an effective monitoring system. However information on language barriers is limited to anecdotal evidence or individual client records. Drawing upon APIPH’s case management experience with Chinese immigrants, this presentation will make recommendations for improvements in D.C, including the need for improved cultural competency training and monitoring attempted access, which may have relevance to others concerned about access to care problems.

Learning Objectives:

• Through this presentation, the audience will learn about:
• • Factors that contribute to racial disparities, such as language barriers, that apply to multiple ethnic groups and settings.
  • The importance of tracking and logging failures in the health and social services systems that contribute to racial disparities in health care. Participants will be able to take the lessons learnt from this presentation and apply this to their own programs or settings.
  • Use the information from the presentation to make recommendations for policy change nationallly and in their own locality.LI>

Keywords: Immigrants, Access to Care

Related Web page: www.apiph.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Asian and Pacific Islander Partnership for Health
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Board of Directors, Asian Pacific Islander Partnership for Health