Rosy Chang Weir, PhD, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, 439 23rd Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-272-9536, rcweir@aapcho.org and Heidi Park, PhD, MPH, Division of Health and Science Policy, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Street, New York, NY 10029.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) often face substantial financial, cultural, and linguistic barriers which prevent them from getting appropriate health care. Enabling services, or supportive services such as interpretation and transportation aimed to increase access to health care, have become important for reducing health disparities and improving health. Despite their importance, there is currently no systematic method for collecting and evaluating the effectiveness of enabling services.

The Enabling Services Accountability Project, involving collaboration between the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), its member clinics, and the New York Academy of Medicine, aims to provide a better understanding of the nature of enabling services and their impact on health care in underserved AAPI communities. A pilot study was conducted at four AAPCHO community health centers serving primarily AAPIs in Hawaii, New York, and Washington. Quantitative data were collected on enabling services which includes information on patients, encounters, and medical visits. On average, there were 1.7 enabling services per user; the mean length of encounter was 22 minutes. The most common enabling services were interpretation and eligibility assistance. Most enabling services were also provided in a language other than English.

The proposed presentation will describe additional findings as well as the project’s purpose and significance, and data collection methods. Overall, the project aims to provide a better understanding of the barriers to health care for AAPIs and useful information to help policy makers effectively address the health needs of AAPIs.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Understand enabling service patterns at community health centers
• 2.Recognize the impact of enabling services in improving health care
• 3.Understand the importance of enabling services research

Keywords: Asian and Pacific Islander, Access to Health Care

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.