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We will be hosting two upcoming community health fairs—in partnership with community leaders, Range Community Clinic, and the Community Health Association of Spokane—to provide healthcare services and resources to AANHPI communities. Our first event will be at Spokane, Washington’s (WA) Lunar New Year Festival Celebration on February 1, 2025, with over 2,000 attendees. The second event will be at the Marshallese Jemenei (Constitution) Day Celebration in Spokane on May 12, 2025, with over 1,000 attendees. Across these two community-wide celebrations, we expect approximately 500 individuals to participate in our health fair, which will include taking vital signs, providing hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) tests, blood glucose tests, lipid panels, and Influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. The goals and objectives of the health fairs are to (1) provide AANHPI communities in Spokane with access to free health screenings (e.g., HbA1c, cholesterol), (2) improve health literacy by providing basic health education on common risk factors and health disparities within AANHPI communities, (3) improve healthcare access and utilization by offering referrals to a local low-cost clinic (e.g., CHAS, Range), (4) enhance the community presence of the Washington State University (WSU) APAMSA through development of community partnerships.

Interested participants will check-in at the front table of our station, where they will be introduced to a medical student (one of six on the team). If needed and if feasible, the participant will be matched with a medical student, volunteer, or community member who can translate and communicate in their preferred language. After receiving informed consent from the participant, the medical student will measure the participant’s vital signs. After this is measured, the medical student will perform the blood glucose test and an HbA1c test, if needed or if there is prior history of diabetes. All steps, including taking vital signs and providing tests, will be completed under the supervision of a faculty physician or nurse from CHAS, Range, or WSU. Medical student volunteers have created intake forms to record screening results, which they will provide to every participant. Medical and pharmacy students have also been trained in the provision of vaccines, so if participants would like an Influenza or COVID-19 vaccination, our team will provide that in a sectioned-off, private section as well. After this, the interprofessional team will assess the participant’s medical history, physical exam, and health screening results with the faculty physician or nurse to provide recommendations. Community health workers from CHAS will be available to provide assistance in accessing medical and non-medical services (e.g., patient registration, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment) and care coordination.

In alignment with APAMSA goals, our health fairs aim to address health equities faced by and strengthen healthcare access for underrepresented and underserved AANHPI community members through cost-free, basic healthcare services. Having organized community health fairs this and last year for Vietnamese, Filipino, and Korean communities throughout Spokane, our team often sees undiagnosed hypertension and diabetes, significant health issues that disproportionately affect minoritized communities and have long-lasting impacts on overall health and well-being. Health fairs, amongst other community-based interventions, have immense potential to lessen significant barriers (e.g., language proficiency, financial limitations, cultural norms) that have contributed to poor health outcomes among AANHPI communities. Notably, Marshallese communities in particular have been excluded from federal healthcare programs for decades, with only recent changes improving access to affordable healthcare. We anticipate a portion of participants to be uninsured, undocumented, or immigrants with limited access to consistent, culturally-competent, primary care. Participants may be ineligible for federally funded healthcare programs, so for some participants, this may be their first time receiving healthcare screening. We aim to improve access to care by connecting individuals to hypertension and diabetes screenings, health insurance, health education, and medical care at our health fairs.

Lastly, as a team of female, Asian American-identifying medical students of color— underrepresented in research and healthcare—we recognize the impact and importance of providing care and support to the communities we call our own. The healthcare needs of the AANHPI communities in Spokane have not been well-researched or explored, and through organizing a community health fair, we aim to learn more about the needs of these communities while simultaneously filling in healthcare gaps that this community may be facing.

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