The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has announced updated standards for federal data collection to address practices that obscure health information for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) and Hispanic/Latino populations.
Historically, data related to NHPI have often been aggregated with Asian populations. The OMB’s revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 – which pertains to standards for maintaining, collecting, and presenting federal data on race and ethnicity – will enable agencies to collect and provide data that more accurately reflects the unique experiences of NHPI communities. Additionally, “Hispanic/Latino” will be captured as a race rather than using the previous two-question approach of asking for race and then ethnicity.
The revisions come amidst growing recognition of the importance of disaggregated data in understanding and addressing health disparities across diverse populations. According to Dr. Pearl McElfish, director of the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation, the prior impact of aggregated data, particularly concerning Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities, has been profound.
“Inadequate data creates challenges for understanding the health needs of NHPI communities,” she explained. “This arbitrary data aggregation masks health disparities and hinders the development of targeted interventions.”
The UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation’s research efforts are aimed at advancing health equity and access in Arkansas. Given the state’s substantial population of Pacific Islanders, especially from the Marshall Islands, the institute places a large focus on understanding and addressing the unique health challenges faced by Marshallese communities. Population data shows that the Pacific Islander population is the second-fastest-growing population in the U.S., with the fastest growth occurring in the South, especially in Arkansas.
“Our research over the past decade has documented the need for these changes in data standards and our team has worked with national experts to advocate for it,” McElfish said. “These new OMB standards will serve to amplify the voices of historically underrepresented communities across the United States.”
To learn more about the updated standards, click here.