Advancing Health Disparities Research: The Need to Include Asian American Subgroup Populations

BACKGROUND: Despite recognition that the health outcomes of Asian American subgroups are heterogeneous, research has mainly focused on the six largest subgroups. There is limited knowledge of smaller subgroups and their health outcomes. This scoping review identifies trends in the health outcomes, reveals those which are under-researched, and provide recommendations on data collection with 24 Asian American subgroups.

METHODS: Our literature search of peer-reviewed English language primary source articles published between 1991 and 2018 was conducted across six databases (Embase, PubMed, Web of Sciences, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Academic Search Complete) and Google Scholar, yielding 3844 articles. After duplicate removal, we independently screened 3413 studies to determine whether they met inclusion criteria. Seventy-six studies were identified for inclusion in this review. Data were extracted on study characteristics, content, and findings.

FINDINGS: Seventy-six studies met the inclusion criteria. The most represented subgroups were Chinese (n = 74), Japanese (n = 60), and Filipino (n = 60), while Indonesian (n = 1), Malaysian (n = 1), and Burmese (n = 1) were included in only one or two studies. Several Asian American subgroups listed in the 2010 U.S. Census were not represented in any of the studies. Overall, the most studied health conditions were cancer (n = 29), diabetes (n = 13), maternal and infant health (n = 10), and cardiovascular disease (n = 9). Studies showed that health outcomes varied greatly across subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS: More research is required to focus on smaller-sized subgroup populations to obtain accurate results and address health disparities for all groups.