Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120433

Jamie Boyd, MSN, FNP, School of Nursing, University of Hawaii, 96-045 Ala Ike Street, DA102-C, Pearl City, HI 96782, 808-455-0558, boydj@hawaii.edu

In an effort to improve the recruitment and retention rates of Native Hawaiians into college and promote disease prevention behaviors among young adult Native Hawaiians, Ka ‘Aina 'Ike, a 3 credit college-based nutritional science and lifestyle course adapted research-based interventions conducted in primary health care settings to create a college program for Native Hawaiians. Motivation for behavior change interventions designed for primary health care settings were modified for a college population and incorporates Hawaiian cultural values, traditional learning styles, and socio-political history, while emphasizing individualized behavioral change, group health and physical education strategies.

The study uses follow-up focus groups to elicit perceived benefits and barriers associated with lessons students learned in the food science course and tracks college retention after the course. Other students, who have not taken part in Ka ‘Aina 'Ike, participated in focus groups to identify ways to promote healthy lifestyles within their culture. A delayed intervention design has been used to compare pre-post qualitative measures of behavioral change and biometric measures.

The presentation will describe changes made to adapt the evidence-based program to the Hawaiian culture, the role of community partners in designing a culturally appropriate energy balance program, and how market research can be used to adapt and deliver successful energy balance programs to the Native Hawaiian population. Lessons learned from this community can be used to explore how to adapt evidence-based programs and practices to various populations.

Learning Objectives: