{"id":868,"date":"2020-12-06T20:18:57","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T01:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyujournalismprojects.org\/gdjfall20\/?p=868"},"modified":"2020-12-07T11:06:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T16:06:44","slug":"maria-abreus-revised-article-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyujournalismprojects.org\/gdjfall20\/index.php\/2020\/12\/06\/maria-abreus-revised-article-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria Abreu&#8217;s Revised Article Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alaska\u2019s Covid-19 death rate is among the lowest in the country, yet the state has one of the highest death rates of Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders (NHPIs). <\/p>\n<p>Despite the 14% surge in cases on Nov. 27, the state\u2019s per capita Covid-19 death rate has remained one of the lowest, at 16 deaths per 100,000 people. The national rate is about seven times that, at 81 deaths per 100,000 people. However, the state has not escaped one nation-wide trend: the enduring systemic, health and social inequalities that have put people of color, especially NHPIs, at increased risk of contracting or dying from the virus. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c(NHPIs) are facing the highest Covid-19 case rates of any race and ethnicity throughout the country,\u201d said Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research during a webinar (UCLA CHPR), and one of the founders of the NHPI Covid-19 Data Policy Lab.  <\/p>\n<p>As shown in the graph below, the mortality rate of NHPIs has been disproportionately high since the onset of the pandemic, at 68.3 per 100,000 people, according to data obtained from The Atlantic\u2019s Covid Tracking Project. The next highest mortality rate was among American Indian\/Alaska Natives (AIAN) at 23 per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n<div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1606702229562' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt=' ' src='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;Co&#47;Covid019CasesbyRaceinAlaska&#47;Story1&#47;1_rss.png' style='border: none' \/><\/a><\/noscript><object class='tableauViz'  style='display:none;'><param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F' \/><param name='embed_code_version' value='3' \/><param name='site_root' value='' \/><param name='name' value='Covid019CasesbyRaceinAlaska&#47;Story1' \/><param name='tabs' value='no' \/><param name='toolbar' value='yes' \/><param name='static_image' value='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;Co&#47;Covid019CasesbyRaceinAlaska&#47;Story1&#47;1.png' \/><param name='animate_transition' value='yes' \/><param name='display_static_image' value='yes' \/><param name='display_spinner' value='yes' \/><param name='display_overlay' value='yes' \/><param name='display_count' value='yes' \/><param name='language' value='en' \/><param name='filter' value='publish=yes' \/><\/object><\/div>\n<p>                <script type='text\/javascript'>                    var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1606702229562');                    var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0];                    vizElement.style.width='1016px';vizElement.style.height='991px';                    var scriptElement = document.createElement('script');                    scriptElement.src = 'https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/javascripts\/api\/viz_v1.js';                    vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);                <\/script><\/p>\n<p>The highest number of NHPI deaths in the state has been nine, but Ponce says that for a group that is so small, \u201cwaiting until the 10th death could be too late for these communities.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s epidemiology report cites that underlying health conditions, along with \u201clong-standing health and social inequities\u201d can partly explain the state\u2019s race-based disparities. However, there are other factors endemic to Alaska that contribute to the challenges faced by this group. <\/p>\n<p>Arne Krogh, a dentist who has a private pilot license in Alaska, says that geography, weather, the lack of transportation infrastructure makes it more difficult for NHPI and AIAN communities to be served and get access to healthcare. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of them can\u2019t drive because they\u2019re not on the road system. If they need to be ambulanced it\u2019s by air to Anchorage mostly. On a day like today, I\u2019m looking outside my window and it\u2019s snowing sideways. The visibility is probably two miles, so it\u2019s hard to get in and out of some of these places when the weather\u2019s like this. When you add the fact that they\u2019re not on the road system, and you\u2019re always fighting the weather elements up here, it just exacerbates the health care and the lack of services. Even though we want to, it\u2019s just hard to get out there,\u201d Krogh said in a phone interview. <\/p>\n<p>These communities are typically shut off from outside visitors and accessible only by boat or plane, with their only lifeline being through carrier delivery. \u201cThese places don\u2019t have level three trauma hospitals,\u201d Krogh said. \u201cTypically, the nurse is also the mailman or the teacher. You have a lot of different people wear different hats.\u201d Lacking the healthcare infrastructure needed to treat Covid-19 complications, many patients have to be flown to Anchorage in a turboprop or small jet, and if the case is severe, they have to go as far as Seattle or Portland. <\/p>\n<p>Joseph Seia, executive director of the Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington, lived in Alaska for eight years and his mother currently lives there. Seia says that the reason why Pacific Islanders have been more affected than Alaska Natives, despite having similar health issues and social practices, is because there are no medical services tailored to NHPIs. Alaska Natives and American Indians do have health centers and organizations that specialize in treating them, such as the Alaska Native Medical Center, the Alaska Native Indian Health Service and the Alaska Tribal Health System. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe health provisions in Alaska are for Alaska Natives and other Native Americans. I don\u2019t think those places serve Pacific Islanders, even though there are lot of similarities as far as the health needs. The state of Alaska already has existing relationships with Alaska Native Tribes, and have agreements to support [their] health. Similarly, Pacific Islanders need to nurture that relationship with the state to ensure there\u2019s a safety net for our people\u201d Seia said in a phone interview. <\/p>\n<p>Seia says that the state\u2019s long, harsh winters increase the chances of having many of the preexisting conditions that make people more vulnerable to the virus, such as obesity and diabetes. \u201cWhen I moved to Alaska, I gained 100 pounds in the first year. I feel like that is a very typical experience when (Pacific) Islanders move to Alaska or grow up there, because of the six to seven months of winter. That makes it really challenging for folks to prioritize their physical health.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>These endemic factors could be part of the reason why the death rate of NHPIs in Alaska is one of the highest in the nation, without having the largest population of NHPIs. In fact, as shown in the graph below, the top three states with the highest population of NHPIs, California, Hawaii and Washington, are not among the states with the highest death rates of NHPIs. The Pacific Islander Covid-19 Response Team, a group of NHPIs researchers, health experts and community leaders, reports that the states with the highest case and death rates are Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Illinois and Alaska. <\/p>\n<div class='tableauPlaceholder' id='viz1606701618498' style='position: relative'><noscript><a href='#'><img alt=' ' src='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;PS&#47;PSKFSHZJQ&#47;1_rss.png' style='border: none' \/><\/a><\/noscript><object class='tableauViz'  style='display:none;'><param name='host_url' value='https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F' \/><param name='embed_code_version' value='3' \/><param name='path' value='shared&#47;PSKFSHZJQ' \/><param name='toolbar' value='yes' \/><param name='static_image' value='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;PS&#47;PSKFSHZJQ&#47;1.png' \/><param name='animate_transition' value='yes' \/><param name='display_static_image' value='yes' \/><param name='display_spinner' value='yes' \/><param name='display_overlay' value='yes' \/><param name='display_count' value='yes' \/><param name='language' value='en' \/><param name='filter' value='publish=yes' \/><\/object><\/div>\n<p>                <script type='text\/javascript'>                    var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1606701618498');                    var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0];                    if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='1000px';vizElement.style.height='827px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='1000px';vizElement.style.height='827px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='727px';}                     var scriptElement = document.createElement('script');                    scriptElement.src = 'https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/javascripts\/api\/viz_v1.js';                    vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);                <\/script> <\/p>\n<p>However, it is difficult to observe any nation-wide virus trend with certainty because only 30% of states are reporting NHPI disaggregated data, according to the UCLA CHPR. Many other states lump together NHPI and Asian American as a single race category. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c(NHPIs) are highly distinguishable, but there\u2019s a frequent aggregation with other racial groups or otherwise complete omission from demographic data. NHPIs are historically and presently overlooked, even in a time when racial disparities in Covid-19 are a significant topic of national public health discussion. With a high-stakes pandemic, there\u2019s an urgent need for widely available disaggregated NHPI data,\u201d said Karla Thomas during a webinar, a scholar from the NHPI Covid-19 Data Policy Lab at UCLA\u2019s CHPR.   <\/p>\n<p>Nationwide, there are other contributing factors to the high death rate. According to Thomas, who is part of the community herself, one in four of them work in essential roles, many are undocumented and are a very communal population. They frequently gather for traditional events like chiefly bestowments and religious ceremonies, which have continued even with rising cases of Covid-19. <\/p>\n<p>UCLA\u2019s CHPR has partnered with the Pacific Islander Covid-19 Response Team to generate reports that are sent to community constituents in the hopes of allocating more resources to help NHPIs. They\u2019ve also planned and implemented infrastructure for informing and supporting families about the virus. Many of their presentations are in Samoan to ensure faith-based leaders, who are primary NHPI-language speakers and trusted messengers of the community, spread the information as widely as possible. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPacific people are a minority with a majority mindset. Moving forward, there is a need we have all uncovered. This work is spiritual in its nature. Everyone from (the NHPI Response Team and UCLA) sees this work as a spiritual venture into something greater, because we all hold ourselves &#8211; as people who collectively think, eat, live and breathe together in the Pacific Islands &#8211; as responsible to each other,\u201d said Thomas.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alaska\u2019s Covid-19 death rate is among the lowest in the country, yet the state has one of the highest death rates of Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders (NHPIs). Despite the 14% surge in cases on Nov. 27, the state\u2019s per capita Covid-19 death rate has remained one of the lowest, at 16 deaths per 100,000 people. 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