INVISIBILITY IS KILLING US

Data Aggregation and its Health Impact on Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans in California

Invisibility is Killing Us summarizes Pacific Islander and Asian American experiences with California county public health departments’ collection and reporting of public health data. 

The report was conducted by the Southern California Pacific Islander and Asian American Data Equity and Health Policy Collaborative with CAUSE as a community partner. The report was made possible through the support of the U.S. DHHS/Office of Minority Health, Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Taskforce, and UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health.

REPORT PRESENTATION

Recorded on August 9, 2024 as part of the Pre-Event for CAUSE’s Summer Soirée.

ABOUT THE REPORT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were data gaps that impacted distribution of resources to diagnose and mitigate COVID-19 for Pacific Islanders (PI) and Asian Americans (AA). As a response, the Southern California Pacific Islander and Asian American Data Equity and Health Policy Collaborative (DEHP) was formed, bringing together researchers, advocates, community-based organizations, and health departments to understand the policy challenges and opportunities to disaggregate Pacific Islander and Asian American data. 

From 2021 to 2022, the research team conducted a legal mapping study to evaluate how counties with populations of 106,000 or more handle data disaggregation. This study involved analyzing local health department standards for race/ethnicity data policies through various channels, including inquiry forms, public records requests, emails, presentations, and community partner outreach.