Publications by authors named "Megan Hagiwara"

A critical barrier to addressing health disparities among minorities is the lack of data, particularly on Pacific Islanders. Typically, national health surveillance systems do not have the resources to ensure proper representation of these small population groups. This study reports factors that guided the cultural adaptation and administration of the National Cancer Institute's Health Information Trends National Survey (HINTS) for a United States-dwelling Pacific Islander population in Hawai'i.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how biculturalism affects health outcomes in youth migrants from US-Affiliated Pacific Islands in Hawai'i, using surveys from 284 teens.
  • Findings reveal that biculturalism boosts self-esteem, which positively influences healthy eating attitudes, body satisfaction, and overall well-being, while negative attitudes toward smoking lead to poor health perceptions.
  • The research suggests that addressing health disparities for minority groups should focus on valuing diversity and cultural identity, with implications for health program funding and research.
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Considerable interest exists in health care costs for the growing Micronesian population in the United States (US) due to their significant health care needs, poor average socioeconomic status, and unique immigration status, which impacts their access to public health care coverage. Using Hawai'i statewide impatient data from 2010 to 2012 for Micronesians, whites, Japanese, and Native Hawaiians (N = 162,152 hospitalizations), we compared inpatient hospital costs across racial/ethnic groups using multivariable models including age, gender, payer, residence location, and severity of illness (SOI). We also examined total inpatient hospital costs of Micronesians generally and for Medicaid specifically.

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Objectives: We compared the age at admission and the severity of illness of hospitalized Micronesians with 3 other racial/ethnic groups in Hawaii.

Methods: With Hawaii Health Information Corporation inpatient data, we determined the age at admission and the severity of illness for 162,152 adult, non-pregnancy-related hospital discharges in Hawaii from 2010 to 2012. We performed multivariable linear regression analyses within major disease categories by racial/ethnic group.

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The Federated States of Micronesia and the Republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands signed a series of treaties known as the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the United States (U.S.).

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