Abstract

The California Pacific Islander well-being and COVID-19 economic survey (CAPIWAVES): Community partnerships to collect population representative data for Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders

Corina Penaia, MPH¹, ‘Alisi Tulua, MSc², Richard Calvin Chang, JD, MSc³, Ninez Ponce, PhD, MPP³, Cynthia Fok¹, Royce J. Park³, Sora Tanjasiri, DrPH, MPH⁴, Andrew Subica, PhD⁵, Brittany Morey, PhD, MPH⁴ and Christen Marquez¹
(1)UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, (2)Asian American Futures, Monterey, CA, (3)UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Los Angeles, CA, (4)University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, (5)University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA

APHA 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background: Having population representative data for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) is essential for informing community-driven interventions to address inequities. However, collecting accurate data for NHPIs is challenging due to the relatively small population size. Furthermore, past rigorous survey methods have rarely involved communities in data collection processes and dissemination.

Objectives: To describe the community engaged CAPIWAVES project for collecting and analyzing a large, population-representative sample of NHPIs in California for a survey on mental health and socioeconomic well-being.

Methods: We used respondent driven sampling by first partnering with community leaders representing the Chamorro, Fijian, Marshallese, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, and Tongan communities in northern, central, and southern California. Community leaders identified 60 initial survey takers or “seeds.” Survey participants took the online survey, then received four referral codes for other NHPI adults in the state to take the survey, then pass it on to four others, and so on. Data analyses accounted for the network size and the underlying demographic of NHPIs in the state based on Census data. Descriptive data were reported back to NHPI communities.

Results: The CAPIWAVES project was successful in collecting a large sample (n=800) of NHPIs representing California communities. However, we faced data collection challenges with time limitations and establishing newer partnerships. Data show the mental health and socioeconomic needs of NHPIs in the state.

Discussion: Future data collection efforts for NHPIs and other small population subgroups may consider using similar community driven methods to effectively collect data that represents the population.

Diversity and culture Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines Public health or related research