Appreciating Health Disparities in Asian American Populations First Requires Culturally Competent Data Collection

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Accurately identifying and mitigating cardiovascular health disparities in Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander populations requires culturally competent, disaggregated data collection. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Taylor Tso

doi:10.1016/j.jacasi.2026.04.009

August 1, 2026JACC AsiaOpen Access

Appreciating Health Disparities in Asian American Populations First Requires Culturally Competent Data Collection

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Key Points

To review historical underrepresentation and data aggregation challenges among Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander populations in cardiovascular research, evaluating culturally competent approaches in the MOSAAIC study design.
Analyzed representation across historical cardiovascular cohorts (CARDIA, FHS, PREVENT) and tracked NIH funding allocations from 1992 to 2018.
Evaluated the Multi-ethnic Observational Study in American Asian and Pacific Islander Communities (MOSAAIC) protocol across 5 urban community/clinical field centers aiming to recruit and follow at least 2,000 eligible participants each.
Assessed methodologies including multi-language surveys (English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog), population-tailored dietary questionnaires, and biomarkers such as whole genome sequencing and coronary artery calcium scoring.
Asian American (AsA) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) individuals comprise approximately 7.7% of the US population but represented only ~2.6% of the derivation sample in PREVENT and 0% in CARDIA and FHS.
From 1992 to 2018, the NIH allocated <0.2% of its total expenditures (around $450 billion) toward studying AsA and NHPI populations.
The $40 million MOSAAIC study prioritizes disaggregated analyses for Native Hawaiians and five populous AsA subgroups, but urban site criteria exclude key groups such as Japanese, Pakistani, and Thai patients who represent >10% of the AsA population.

Structured PICO

P

Population

Asian Americans (AsA) and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) in the United States

Limitations

Participant recruitment is effectively limited to urban centers due to clinical field center locations.
Study design focuses on the 5 most populous Asian American groups, excluding large groups such as Japanese, Pakistani, and Thai patients.
Broad group labels such as 'Chinese' homogenize diverse populations and obscure important intragroup heterogeneity.

Implication

Culturally competent data collection and the disaggregation of ethnic subgroups are essential to address the historical under-representation of Asian American and Pacific Islander populations in cardiovascular risk modeling.

Abstract

[Figure: see text]

Discussion

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Cite This Study

Taylor Tso (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6ad0fcbf15427f6a84040340 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacasi.2026.04.009

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Appreciating Health Disparities in Asian American Populations First Requires Culturally Competent Data Collection

Key Points

Structured PICO

Limitations

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Appreciating Health Disparities in Asian American Populations First Requires Culturally Competent Data Collection

Key Points

Structured PICO

Limitations

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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