The need for the translation of research into practice and policy leading to the elimination of health disparities has come sharply into focus in recent years. Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) the interest is particularly salient with a legacy of ?helicopter researchers? and ?mosquito scientists? entering their communities to conduct research and collect data without sharing important results that could benefit the community. National level data on NHPIs remains inadequate and the lack of baseline no less detailed information on diverse Pacific Islander subgroups remains unchanged. As a rapidly growing, but chronically understudied and underserved population, the needs of NHPI continue to fall below the radar while other population groups directly benefit from major efforts to develop policy and meaningful interventions.
To address these concerns researchers at the University of Michigan?s Institute for Social Research seek support from the National Institutes of Health in organizing a conference to achieve the aims described in this application. The specific aims are: (1) To convene a conference that will draw leading researchers and advocates from the fields of health and public policy, members of community-based and faith-based organizations, scientists and students actively researching on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health disparities, government administrators and legislators, and philanthropic organizations; (2) To unveil the results of the recently fielded Pacific Islander American Health Study and facilitate discussion from this evidence-based research project; (3) To highlight the PILI `Ohana CBPR Partnership as a best practice model for engaging Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Peoples in randomized controlled trials; and (4) To translate the evidence-based information into workable strategies and recommendations to build healthy Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
The conference will help facilitate partnerships, network building and collaborations between researchers and community advocates to achieve healthy NHPI communities. Meeting proceedings will be recorded and transcribed for review and summation by the research team and then shared with participants and interested researchers. The analysis will inform the development of a broader interdisciplinary NHPI community-based participatory research agenda. We will use the forum to encourage the future independent development of research proposals, as well as seek to identify best practices for interventions across multiple NHPI communities nationwide.