Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 5, 1 May 2014 — Next generation of leaders emerge from public health program [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Next generation of leaders emerge from public health program

By Diamond Badajos

For the students specializing in Native Hawaiian and indigenous heahh, the community is their classroom and its people are their teachers. Dedicated to its kuleana of serving indigenous peoples, the program has adopted indigenous research methodologies and schools of thought to address the needs of our communities. A track in the puhlie heahh master's program at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Native Hawaiian and indigenous heahh is the only program of its kind in the world and will be graduating its first students in the spring of 2014. The program has between 12 and 15 students and is working to expand its curriculumto include a doctorate program. It's also creating connections not just within the university but directly with the community. Ultimately, the puhlie heahh program hopes to heeome its own school with the ability to connect with other indigenous heahh programs around the world. Nearly three years ago, a programaddressing the heahh disparities of Native Hawaiians and other marginalized groups didn't exist. Convincing the university of the importance and potential impact of this area of study was met with minimal challenges.

"Someone has to build something and that will be the start," says Maile īauali'i, Ph.D., about creating a model for puhlie heahh SEE HEALĪH ON PAGE 17

This monlh, the first master's of puhlie health graduates in Native Hawaiian and indigenous health will receive their diplomas from the University of Hawai'i-Mōnoa. The graduates - back row, from left: Ashley Kiana Morisako, Chad Ku'uipo Noble-Tabiolo and Kimiko K. Wilson - are joined by fellow student Joey Kahana Cadiz, professor Maile Tauali'i, director Jay Maddock, professor Treena Delormier and student C. Malia Purdy. - Photo: Diamond Badajos

HEALĪH

Continued from page 5 programs serving indigenous populations. "We need to look critically at these issues for ourselves." The specialization head and assistant professor in the puhlie health program, īauali'i was instrumental in developing the program that takes a holistic approach to heahh care that addresses more than just a person's physical well-being. "Puhlie heahh is about keeping our communities healthy so they never have to use heahh services or face the poor heahh outcomes, everything from mental heahh to physical heahh to eeonomie heahh," says īauali'i. "Puhlie heahh looks at a way to look at the complete person and that comes from the community and resonates from the community," she says. "They don't just need medicine, they need to not ever get ill." In the Hawai'i Journal ofMedi-

eine and Puhlie HeaUh, Native Hawaiians are said to suffer from some of the worst heahh disparities and socioeconomic status eompared to other populations in the state. The journal lists that Native Hawaiians live 13 years less than those with the greatest life expectancy, have a high infant mortality rate, double the amount of cardiovascular disease and three times the amount of diabetes when it comes to mortality rates in comparison to Caucasians. "When a community has good indigenous heahh, they have good heahh for everyone," says program director Jay Maddock, Ph.D. To ensure that good heahh is accessible by everyone, the NHIH track prepares its students for responsible leadership. Treena Delormier, a puhlie heahh professor, emphasizes that this area of study is an opportunity to train people that need to be in the community. Kimiko Wilson, a master's student graduating in the NHIH track, says a program like this allows the

people of Hawai'i to serve their communities. "It's about protoeol, how do we enter a community and posture ourselves in it," says Wilson. Wilson acknowledges that Native Hawaiian values are at the foundation of the NHIH track and they are used to navigate the path of heahh and wellness in the Hawaiian community. "This program ean unveil our eyes of the potential for our people and the potential of their heahh," Wilson says. There will be two other students graduating alongside Wilson, Ashley Morisako and Chad NohleTabiolo. Morisako, who will continue her education in the medieal field, aspires to offer treatment in a way that is appropriate for her patients. To do this, she says that a bridge between indigenous and western heahh needs to be made while establishing partnerships. "Our heahh needs to be put back into the hands of our communities," says Morisako. "We can't just associate heahh with a hospital or an institutionalized setting." ■