Resources for providers to counsel patients about healthy lifestyles.

As part of the Healthy Hawaii Initiative professional education campaign, 14 focus groups were conducted across the state with primary care providers, staff and community leaders to determine what messages about healthy lifestyles work with patients in health care settings. Focus group members indicated that culturally sensitive and personalized messages, positive reinforcement, and teamwork are most effective in counseling patients

Cancer screening among Vietnamese in Hawaii.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of utilization of cancer screening services by Vietnamese in Hawaii, who had sought medical care from 1996 through 2000. METHODS: A chart review of 952 adult Vietnamese patients was performed. RESULTS: Of all eligible women, 52% and 26% had Papanicolaou test and mammogram, respectively. Among men age 45 and over, 8.4% had prostate-specific antigen test and 3.4% had digital rectal exam. Flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy were not utilized by patients. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to examine the use of cancer screening tests by Vietnamese immigrants in Hawaii. Our findings of lower utilization rates in cancer screening by both male and female strongly support efforts to educate and promote preventive health for this population.5D32PE10067-05/PE/BHP HRSA HHS/United StatesP20 RR11091/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United State

How Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is using technology to make the Pacific smaller.

INTRODUCTION: In order to improve health literacy in rural areas, the Hawaii/Pacific Basin AHEC and Ke 'Anuenue AHEC are working to connect rural communities via video teleconferencing. METHODS: Video teleconferencing connectivity has been established to 15 rural and underserved locations across Hawaii and to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. RESULTS: An average of 15 individuals participate in weekly facilitated health education sessions. DISCUSSION: Participants have reported lifestyle change as a result of sessions and attendance is significantly increasing. In some areas, mid level health care professionals attend in order to obtain information for their patients

Orthopaedic Surgery in Palau – A Quantitative Assessment to Support Capacity-Building

Introduction Palau, an island nation in Micronesia, is a medically underserved area with no full-time orthopaedic surgeons. Orthopaedic diagnoses in Palau remain among the three most common reasons for costly off-island medical referral. Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of orthopaedic conditions in Palau and quantify referral spending to inform interventions to build orthopaedic surgery capacity. Methods Data was collected from Belau National Hospital’s electronic health record (EHR) and from the Palau Medical Referral Committee (MRC) reports. All encounters with orthopaedic diagnoses in the EHR between November 2022 and July 2023 and all orthopaedic referrals between October 2018 and June 2023 were included. Results were reported descriptively. Results In eight months of EHR data, there were 1,235 patients with orthopaedic diagnoses, totaling 1,762 encounters. The most common body parts affected were the back/spine, knee/lower leg, and foot/ankle. The most common diagnoses were pain (due to sciatica, osteophytes, etc.), osteoarthritis, sprain/tear, and fracture.<p/

Excellence in research and education at the John A. Burns School of Medicine: a tribute to Edwin Cadman's vision.

P20 RR11091/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United State