The NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH) continues to deepen our support of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (NH/PI) communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through collaborative, multisector, and transdisciplinary national partnerships, we aim to enhance research, training, community engagement, and dissemination efforts.

These efforts focus on fostering a continuous, bi-directional exchange of knowledge, skills, and resources with our partners. We strive to advance a shared health equity agenda that recognizes commonalities across Asian American and NH/PI groups and that promotes collaboration for f disaggregated data collection on their health needs.

Forging Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Community Partnerships for Rapid Response to COVID-19

From 2020-2022, CSAAH engaged in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)–funded initiative, Forging Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Community Partnerships for Rapid Response to COVID-19. The initiative aimed to strengthen a national coalition of Asian American and NH/PI community-serving partners to expand research opportunities for disaggregated data collection, analysis, and support to better address the impact of COVID-19 in these populations.

Our scientific, community-engaged research approach included Community Health Resource and Needs Assessments (CHRNAs), primary and secondary data analyses, and data harmonization efforts. Data harmonization describes efforts to combine data from different sources and formats into a merged format that allows for comparisons across the standardized data. These efforts aimed to improve data quality and utility, encouraging collaborative uses of the data.

The initiative also led to a culturally adapted messaging campaign tailored to support COVID-19 infection control and prevention in New York City–based Asian American communities. In collaboration with the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and local community-based organizations, we developed a three-part health information campaign addressing community concerns. Campaign materials can be accessed through our AA & NH/PI Health Central hub.

Project Firstline

From 2021-2024, CSAAH community health workers supported Project Firstline, the CDC’s national training collaborative for healthcare workers on infection prevention and control. This initiative amplifies the voices and experiences of the diverse Asian American and NH/PI frontline public health workforce through in-language webinars and in-person training events. Project Firstline is a collaboration with the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum and a national coalition of Asian American and NH/PI community-serving partner organizations.

New York Community Engagement Alliance

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded aims to collaborate with communities to improve health. The NYCEAL coalition consists of community-based organization (CBO), academic and clinical research partners, including CSAAH, who provide regional support to New York City communities to 1) reduce the risk of chronic disease disparities through implementation of strategies to improve food security, social connectedness, physical activity and healthy nutrition and 2) strengthen well-being and resilience and reduce stress among frontline CBO staff and community health workers.

Currently, CSAAH is focused on supporting local community-based organization partners’ existing food access and outreach efforts by understanding existing food access challenges, providing technical assistance, supporting food pantry and community garden efforts, and overall implementing strategies to support a healthy lifestyle and social cohesion.

AA & NH/PI COVID-19 Needs Assessment Project

The AA & NH/PI COVID-19 Needs Assessment Project, co-led by CSAAH and a collective of national and regional community and research partners, conducted a nationwide assessment to evaluate the needs and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian American and NH/PI communities. The collaboration aimed to produce timely, policy-relevant, in-language research and was part of a larger multiracial research study supported by the National Urban League.

Learn more about the Executive Summary findings from the Needs Assessment Phase 1 report.