A new policy
brief by the UCLA Center for Health
Policy Research points out the need for easier access to health data on
the nearly 6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives living in the United
States.
The report’s authors write that the lack of clear data and the
challenges in accessing it make it difficult for researchers and policymakers
to understand the health challenges faced by American Indians and Alaska
Natives. The study is particularly timely because, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, American Indians and Alaska Natives have
COVID-19 infection rates that are 3 1/2 times higher than non-Hispanic whites.
“American Indians and Alaska Natives are often underrepresented
in health research because of narrow definitions in the race and ethnicity
categories across national and state surveys,” said Tara
Becker, the study’s lead author and a senior public administration
analyst at the center.
“It is vital to note that single-race, non-Latino American
Indian and Alaska Native data are often used to represent the entire
population, which can be misleading, considering that fewer than 2 in 5
American Indians and Alaska Natives report themselves in this category.”
►
Learn more: The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research hosts a webinar on the
findings today at noon PT
The federal agencies that collect and track health data have a
comparatively small amount of input from American Indian and Alaska Native
communities, because in most national survey data, too few respondents have
been interviewed for the data to be considered representative. That means their
data is often reported to researchers — those whose studies help make sense of
the data — as part of an “other” category, which eliminates any chance that the
data can be used to understand the specific health challenges American Indians
and Alaska Natives face.
The finding came after the authors analyzed seven large population
health surveys conducted by the federal government and a state health survey
conducted by the center. The brief suggests a handful of measures that could
improve the measurement and availability of information about the health of
American Indians and Alaska Natives, including:
Having research centers pool multiple years of survey data to
provide more race and ethnicity data, such as in the center’s own California
Health Interview Survey.
Having the federal agencies that provide the data include
information on the overall American Indian and Alaska Native population, such
as by grouping both single-race and multiracial people, in the data sets they
provide to researchers.
Having those agencies reduce the cost and time it takes for
researchers and scientists to access restricted population health data.
“We must of course keep in mind the value and integrity of data
privacy as well as be respectful of cultural values, which is why it’s
important that we reduce access barriers so that tailored policies can be
created to better serve this community,” said Riti
Shimkhada, a co-author of the paper and a senior research scientist at
the center.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health policy information for California. The Center improves the public's health through high quality, objective, and evidence-based research and data that informs effective policymaking. The Center is the home of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and is part of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. For more information, visit healthpolicy.ucla.edu.