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Reaching Out to Underserved AAPI Communities in Pima County, Arizona

Summary: 
Howard Eng is being honored as a Health in the AAPI Community Champion of Change.

Howard Eng

Howard Eng is being honored as a Health in the AAPI Community Champion of Change.

The Pima County AAPI Navigator Program’s primary goal is to reduce the number Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) uninsured in Pima County, Arizona. To accomplish this goal, the program uses both general and specified community cultural, linguistically and appropriate literacy level outreach approaches. The Program works with AAPI community leaders and partners to identify the most appropriate and effective public education and outreach approaches that can be used to reach their communities’ uninsured.

There are many challenges in outreaching to the AAPI populations in Pima County. Some of these include: (1) the AAPI populations are scattered throughout a very large county (larger than New Jersey); (2) many of the AAPI communities are not receptive to outsider interactions; (3) cultural and language barriers; (4) lack of awareness about health coverage availability; (5) limited health literacy; (6) do not see the urgency or the need for health coverage; and (7) even with subsidized coverage with the Health Insurance Marketplace for some AAPI families, it still may not be affordable.

To overcome many of these challenges, the Navigator Program works closely with AAPI community leaders and partners to determine if there is a need for Program assistance to outreach to the uninsured. If there is a need for assistance, the community leaders help to identify the most appropriate and effective public education and outreach approaches that can be used to reached their communities’ uninsured. The program uses cultural, linguistically and appropriate literacy level outreach approaches as well as work within the community culture and structure (e.g., giving public presentations to AAPI community and faith-based groups in English and their preferred language, if needed and providing Marketplace and other health care coverage information booths at AAPI community events). It takes time and patience to overcome the challenges and requires a long term approach in establishing a strong working relationship with the communities. 

Looking past open enrollment, from December 2013 to August 2014, the Navigator Program plans to outreach 7 to 8 different Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Pima County. The Program outreached to the Bhutanese community in December 2013, Marshallese community in January 2014, Filipino and Chinese communities in February-March, and plans to begin outreach to the Asian Indian community in April.

Howard Eng is Assistant Professor and Director of the Southwest Border Rural Health Research Center, Center for Rural Health, The University of Arizona College of Public Health