The Hawai'i Community Resource Obesity Project: results from the Lifestyle Enhancement Program.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of a community-based, multidisciplinary team-led, lifestyle modification program on short-term weight loss in a morbidly obese (mean BMI 40.8 kg/m2), predominantly Native Hawaiian population.

Methods: Descriptive study comparing weight loss over time in intervention and control groups.

Diabetes management: utilizing community health workers in a Hawaiian/Samoan population.

Background: Although not widely utilized, community health workers (CHWs) have been shown to enhance diabetes education and management efforts among racial/ethnic minority populations.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of CHWs on diabetes management among a population with primarily Native Hawaiian and Samoan ethnic minority participants with HbA1c greater than 10%.

Design: Descriptive study comparing HbA1c readings of participants with diabetes with and without CHW intervention.

Re-examining community based research protocols.

The Waiànae community is challenged with multiple medical, psychosocial, geographic, and economic adversities, serving primarily indigenous peoples. This is also a community with distinct cultural and political strengths and a history of community activism. Much has been written from the perspective of academia or professional organizations regarding community-based research.

Change in approach and delivery of medical care in children with asthma: results from a multicenter emergency department educational asthma management program.

Objectives: The Hawaii Child Asthma Research to Elevate Standards (CARES) Program implemented an emergency department (ED)-based education and management program to facilitate National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guideline understanding among asthmatic children and their families, ED staff, and health care providers.

Methods: The multipronged approach used: (1) 2-phased prospective tracking system of ED asthma patients; (2) ED-based educational intervention for patients/families; and (3) asthma education for ED staff and community-based health care providers. Data were collected across 4 EDs during phase I (October 8, 2002, to October 1, 2003) and phase II (October 1, 2003, to July 8, 2004).

Evaluation of secondhand smoking characteristics in asthmatic children presenting to four emergency departments on O'ahu, Hawai'i.

Exposure to secondhand smoke causes adverse health outcomes particularly in vulnerable groups like children. This multi-centered prospective study examined the household exposure to secondhand smoke among asthmatic children presenting to emergency departments on O'ahu, Hawai'i. Findings revealed that asthmatic children of Samoan, Micronesian, Filipino, Part/Native Hawaiian and Other/Mixed Ancestry had a greater proportion of high exposure to secondhand smoke in the home compared to Japanese, Chinese and Caucasian ethnic groups.

Demographics and characteristics of wheezing/asthmatic children with repeat emergency department visits in O'ahu, Hawai'i.

A profile of Hawai'i's pediatric asthmatic patients who repeatedly visit the ED is lacking. This multi-centered prospective study found that repeat ED utilization occurs more frequently in a particular subset of patients. Characteristics of the asthmatic cohort can help health care providers, caregivers, children, and their families understand and better manage asthma as a chronic condition and improve quality of life.

A community-based asthma management program: effects on resource utilization and quality of life.

Objective: The Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) developed an integrated community-based asthma management program in an effort to reduce inappropriate medical utilization and improve quality of life in their pediatric asthma population.

Methods: Over a period of three years, eighty-eight children with asthma participated in the community-based asthma management program. During this time, an automated asthma tracking system was developed, the WCCHC established a standard system of care based on the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (NAEPP Asthma Guidelines) adapted for cultural sensitivity, and a coordinated team care approach was implemented in the asthma management program.

Report of the first annual Hawaii Asthma Research Consortium.

The first Hawaii Asthma Research Consortium was held on 7 May 2001 at Tripler Army Medical Center. Researchers investigating asthma-related problems and program directors of asthma projects were solicited statewide to present their projects. Ten lecturers focused on research and asthma projects in Hawaii in 20-minute presentations.