New York is home to nearly one million Asians and Pacific Islanders (API), who account for 14% of the city’s population. From 2000 to 2017, the Asian population grew by 48% and in that same time period, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) community grew by 25% nationwide, becoming the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S. between 2000 and 2019.
In an effort to better understand the needs of each API group, the New York City Department of Health released a first-of-its-kind report that broke down the health data in the city by API ethnic groups, rather than lumping all groups together. The report notes that a history of racism and exclusionary immigration policies, such as the establishment of Japanese internment camps in 1942, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, and more recently, the rise in anti-Asian violence and hate crimes have trickled down into API communities, impacting their overall health and well-being.
Additionally, API groups may not have access to culturally competent mental health services or providers. Other barriers include mental health-related information and questions that may not translate into all dialects, making it harder for mental health providers to interpret mental health needs and make it harder for API to speak about their issues.
Despite years of lumping API groups together, there is a myriad of ethnic groups that make up New York’s population, including but not limited to people of Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai ancestry.
“Within research communities, there is a just a complete lack of data disaggregation when it comes to looking at Asian American and Pacific Islander populations,” Lee explained. Because each ethnic group has sub-differences, breaking down the data by different groups allows for researchers to explore each group’s needs thoroughly, she said.
Read more at VerywellHealth.com.
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