Rockville, MD -- The Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) in Montgomery County, Maryland, recently released a report called "Asian American Health Priorities: Strengths, Needs, and Opportunities for Action" as a respond to health care access barriers and growth population experienced by Asian Americans in the county.

Part of the Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Health and Human Services, AAHI is the first health-related program that directly addresses the health needs of the Asian American Community in Montgomery County. Established in 2005, the AAHI works to collect comprehensive health information to reduce health disparities among minority groups.

Asian American communities, including those living in Montgomery County, are confronting unprecedented challenges with the advent of the 21st century. In 2006, 124,605 Montgomery County residents identified themselves as Asian Americans. This population has been increasing rapidly, growing at a rate of 62% from 1990 to 2006.

Based on health assessments made in 2005 and 2007, the health report provides a picture of Asian American health issues and proposes recommendations for their solutions. Recommendations included increasing awareness of disease prevention, maximizing healthcare resources and enhancing collaborations among community-based organizations to develop new health programs.

AAHI also proposed a variety of programs to reflect the main health issues affecting Asian Americans today. The programs included issues such as cancer, hepatitis b and diabetes education. These programs reflect the goals of the AAHI which include raising awareness, reporting health status and ensuring that all ethnic groups in the Asian American community have healthcare by eliminating barriers.

In his message, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett pointed out that the publication will play an important role in meeting the health care needs of a large, diverse and growing population in his county. " Through an intensive outreach, data collection, and assessment process, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the health care needs of our Asian American population, and more importantly—a blueprint for how to expand and improve health care services to meet those needs".

"Because of your efforts, a tangible difference will be made in the lives of Asian Americans who call Montgomery County home," Leggett observed.

According to Uma Ahluwalia, Director of Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services, This report "responds specifically to the need to define the scope of the problem of health disparities in the Asian American populations".

"The Asian American community in our County has some very unique characteristics in that it encompasses an extremely diverse population with many underlying risk factors that make it quite challenging to develop effective outreach and intervention strategies. However, AAHI, with support from their advisory committee, staff and consultants, have in this report identified the problem and have paved the way for consideration of effective strategies aimed at addressing disparate social and health outcomes in the Asian American population," said Ahluwalia, herself an Asian American.

Julie Bawa, Program Manager at AAHI, said: "It is important to recognize the differences among diverse groups of Asian Americans in order to develop adequate health interventions. In this report, a county-wide assessment was performed to identify the unique health needs of 13 Asian American groups. The report is framed around three fundamental questions: Who Are We? What Are Our Concerns? And What Will We Do?"

"As the county’s Asian American population continues to increase at a rapid rate and outpaces the growth of many other minority groups, this population remains at risk of widening health disparities due to barriers to health care access and lack of adequate health information.

"AAHI, with its mandate to identify Asian Americans’ health needs and improve their health care and education, is in a unique position to help bridge the health and health care gap in these diverse communities.

"'We will expand our existing services and, if necessary, create new programs for areas that were reported as emerging concerns for the Asian American community. AAHI will also continue to work collaboratively with community-based and faith-based organizations to reach the increasingly diverse populations we serve. Along with our partners, we will build a community of opportunity, of prosperity, and of health".