PANEL-I - EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MINORITY HEALTH

Collecting epidemiologic data by ethnicity and race is a highly useful undertaking; but ''bench-mark'' comparisons relative to majority Amer icans should not take priority over defining the determinants of healt h status within a minority group. Thus, it is necessary to identify fa ctors contributing to the measured health status and to modify the env ironment, lifestyles, and behaviors to diminish the likelihood of unde sirable health outcomes. This article presents an overview of the heal th status of African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Hisp anics. The goals are to provide a framework for the rational interpret ation of both health status data and its determinants both within and between minority groups. This approach recognizes the heterogeneity of health status that exists within a minority group and encourages inve stigators to place more emphasis on the within-group health status dif ferentials as they search for modifiable factors that underlie the ris k for undesirable health outcomes.