Addressing Asian American misrepresentation and underrepresentation in research

Abstract

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial/ethnic minority group in the United States and have unique, heterogenous health status and outcomes across a range of conditions between disaggregated Asian subgroups. Despite the rapid growth of this group, clinical and epidemiologic research lags considerably in adequately and appropriately representing Asian Americans. Too often, Asian American participants and populations are inappropriately aggregated into a single race category in research, masking important differences between ethnic subgroups. In this commentary, actionable recommendations are provided to investigators in order to enhance inclusion and representation of Asian Americans in a broad scope of research programs. Incorporating these recommendations in research planning and conduct will support health and promote health equity for these populations.