Research Resources
Resources for Research in Hawaii and/or on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
Broken Promises, Shattered Lives: The Case for Justice for Micronesians In Hawaii
This report was compiled in response to the growing political controversy surrounding the presence of COFA (Compacts of Free Association) migrants in Hawai‘i, to raise awareness of the systemic challenges that affect this community and to shift the discussion from one focused on resources to one centered on civil and human rights. COFA are a series of treaties between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau and Republic of the Marshall Islands. Under these treaties, the U.S. exercises strategic control of more than a million square miles of the Pacific between Hawai‘i and Guam and significant economic control of the three nations.
Overweight and At-Risk for Overweight Among Hawai'i Public School Students Entering Kindergarten, 2002-2003
To provide a population based estimate of overweight in Hawai'is children, this study examined Student Health Records for 10,199 children entering kindergarten in public schools during 2002-2003. The number of overweight children in the United States has doubled in the past 20-30 years, with similar patterns occurring throughout the world.Overall, the state totals reveal high proportions of 4 & 5-year-olds entering Hawai‘i public schools overweight and at-risk for overweight. In general, this study suggests that rural communities on O‘ahu and O‘ahu’s Neighbor island communities are more likely to have kindergarteners entering schools overweight or at risk for overweight. Click here for study.
Hawaii Community Health Needs Assessment - Community Voices on Health
A 2010 health needs assessment compiles information about existing health issues and trends as well as resources within a community. This information can reveal disparities, gaps, prevalence of disease, and social and economic factors that create barriers to a community’s optimal health.
Community Voices on Health was commissioned by Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and includes information from health care experts, policymakers, and community members. Hundreds of individuals and dozens of social service and public health organizations contributed data, feedback and input.
Hawai'i Medical Journal Childhood Obesity Special Issue
The Hawaii Medical Journal published a HICORE supplement to their July 2011 issue:
The purpose of this supplement is to start to look at and evaluate evidence of the burden of obesity in Hawai‘i and to present potential options for the management of obesity at the community level. It represents the efforts of local researchers, it provides an excellent overview of the obesity situation in Hawai‘i, and it helps us to elucidate some of the social factors infl uencing the rate of obesity in
Hawai‘i.
The Journal’s aim is to provide new scientifi c information in a scholarly manner,
with a focus on the unique, multicultural, and environmental aspects
of the Hawaiian Islands and Pacifi c Rim region.
To see the issue, click here.
Center for Native and Pacific Health Disparities Research
A new Center for Native and Pacific Health Disparities Research (the Center) has been established at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Located in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the centers long-term mission goes beyond any single department or school. The Center will serve as a regional focal point for research designed to eliminate health disparities and improve health outcomes for populations in the Pacific region including Native and Pacific Peoples.
Through research studies, research training and engaging communities, the Center will combat those disparities. Funding is from a 5-year, $7.3 million grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) and the National Institutes of Health.
Hawaii State Department of Health "Overweight / Obesity and Pregnancy: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring"
Discusses the preconceptions of being overweight or obese, outcomes association with these preconceptions, and characteristics of mothers who hold these preconceptions.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "The Obesity Epidemic and Hawaii Students"
Evaluates the 2009 Hawaii Youth Risk Behavior Survey and 2008 Hawaii School Health Profiles and how they relate to obesity. Lists solutions such as better health education, more PE and physical activity programs, and healthier school environments.
National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality
Childhood Obesity Action Network - Hawaii Report Card
States statistics on the childhood obesity epidemic in Hawaii. Presents what state initiatives, schools standards, and policy options Hawaii is taking and not taking to remedy the epidemic. Compares Hawaii's figures with National.
County Health Rankings
The County Health Rankings show us that where we live matters to our health. The health of a community depends on many different factors – ranging from individual health behaviors, education and jobs, to quality of health care, to the environment. This collection of 50 reports – one per state – helps community leaders see that where we live, learn, work, and play influences how healthy we are and how long we live.
Health Trends in Hawai‘i: A Profile of the Health Care System
The HMSA Foundation sponsored the production of both www.healthtrends.org and Health Trends in Hawai‘i, consistent with its commitment to improving health in Hawai‘i through grantmaking, strategic initiatives, publications, and community-wide programs. Hawaii Health Information Corporation (HHIC) produced both the website and the publication, drawing upon multiple state and federal data sources. HHIC has been providing quality health care information in Hawai‘i since 1994.
Hawaii Health Data Warehouse
In an attempt to standardize the collection and management of Hawaii’s health data and support the goal of the Healthy People 2010, the Department of Health established the Hawaii Health Data Warehouse or HHDW. HHDW was formerly called the Hawaii Outcomes Institute, established in 2000 as a part of the Healthy Hawaii Initiative.
Hawaii Health Matters
Healthy Hawaii is a one-stop source of non-biased data and information about community health on the islands, and healthy communities in general. It is intended to help planners, policy makers, and community members learn about issues and identify improvements.
Center on the Family at the University of Hawaii Manoa
This site provides a comprehensive overview of the Center on the Family projects and activities, links to downloadable publications, databases on children, families, and the aging, and other relevant resources. The Centers mission is to enhance interdisciplinary research, service, and education that supports and strengthens families.
Hawaii Department of Health Health Statistics
This site provides links to large surveys conducted by the Hawaii Department of Health including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the Hawaii Health Survey and Hawaii Vital Statistics.
Kamehameha Schools Data and Population Statistics
The Research and Evaluation department researches specific topics based on emergent needs and interests of both internal and external stakeholders. The DataBoard is a preliminary effort to make these data available to a larger audience.
Kamehameha Schools Research: Hawaiian Education and Well-being
The Research and Evaluation division examines Hawaiian education from a multidisciplinary perspective. Study findings inform decision making at Kamehameha Schools and enhance community awareness of Hawaiian well-being.
State of Hawaii Data Book
The State of Hawaii Data Book is the official summary of statistics on the social, economic, and political organization of Hawaii. The latest edition closely follows the organization and format of its counterpart, the Statistical Abstract of the United States, to facilitate comparison of state and national data.
Papa Ola Lokahi
To improve the health status and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians and others by advocating for, initiating and maintaining culturally appropriate strategic actions aimed at improving the physical, mental and spiritual health of Native Hawaiians and their ‘ohana (families) and empowering them to determine their own destinies.
Micronesian Seminar
Micronesian Seminar (MicSem) is a research-pastoral institute founded by the Catholic Church in 1972. Its main mission is community education, although it has engaged in social and historical research. For 30 years, MicSem has served the people of what was once the Trust Territory of the Pacific--the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Over the past year, Data Matters featured a series of briefs examining relationships among culture-based education (CBE) and student outcomes. A summary report of the Hawaiian Cultural Influences in Education study is now available, which includes previously unreleased results from multilevel statistical analyses. Findings suggest CBE makes a positive difference in the way students feel about themselves and how they perform in school.
Resources for research on childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and active living
Two new, free resources from the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research
The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) now offers the Measures Registry and the Catalogue of Surveillance Systems for help childhood obesity researchers.
The Measures Registry is an interactive searchable Web tool that includes nearly 750 measures in four domains: individual dietary behavior, food environment, individual physical activity, and physical activity environment. The web tool includes: questionnaires, instruments, diaries, logs, electronic devices, direct observation of people or environments, protocols, and analytic techniques.
The Catalogue of Surveillance Systems describes existing surveillance systems that collect data related to childhood obesity. Provides access to more than 75 surveys and other data sets from national, state, and local levels on a range of variables.
The USDA Food Environment Atlas
Food environment factors—such as store/restaurant proximity, food prices, food and nutrition assistance programs, and community characteristics—interact to influence food choices and diet quality. Research is beginning to document the complexity of these interactions, but more is needed to identify causal relationships and effective policy interventions. The objectives of the Atlas are:(1) To assemble statistics on food environment indicators to stimulate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality (2) To provide a spatial overview of a community’s ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so
National Center for Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR)
The mission of the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and application of childhood obesity research and to halt—and reverse—the current childhood obesity trend through enhanced coordination and collaboration.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity is a leading voice in the national movement to reverse the epidemic by 2015. Through policy analysis, leadership development, and communications with a broad network of advocates, the center is working to enable children of all races, ethnicities and geographic locations to eat healthy, be physically active and avoid obesity.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Childhood Obesity Technical Assistance Toolkits
These technical assistance toolkits provide information on a wide variety of issues related to children and adolescents including information on optimizing school health environments, childcare setting and engaging youth.
Robert Wood Johnson Active Living Research Tools and Resources
The website links to instruments that are suitable for researchers, practitioners, and community advocates to use in assessing the built and social environments for physical activity.
Robert Wood Johnson Active Living Research Syntheses, Summaries and Briefs
The chief aim of Active Living Research is to increase knowledge about active living by supporting research to identify environmental factors and policies that can increase physical activity and prevent childhood obesity, particularly among children in low-income and racial or ethnic minority communities. This website links to summaries from the existing literature in the fields of health, planning, transportation, and recreation.
International Taskforce on Obesity - Childhood Obesity Section
The IOTF is a global network of expertise, a research-led think tank and advocacy arm of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.
World Health Organization Child Growth Standards
This web site presents the WHO Child Growth Standards. These standards were developed using data collected in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study. The site presents documentation on how the physical growth curves and motor milestone windows of achievement were developed as well as application tools to support implementation of the standards.
Convergence Partnership
The Convergence Partnership is a collaborative of funders whose goal is to change policy and develop solutions to problems plaguing communities—from how food is distributed and sold to how neighborhoods are built to the transportation systems that serve them.
The Strategic Alliance
The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments is a coalition of nutrition and physical activity advocates in California that fosters environmental and policy approaches to support health and well-being through access to healthy eating and activity. The website is an online resource of local policies that provide strategies for healthy eating and activity.
Prevention Institute
Prevention Institute has developed a broad range of practical, easy-to-use tools that guide practitioners, advocates, and policymakers in planning health strategy and in contributing to safer, healthier, and more equitable communities.