University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization
AARP Hawai‘i
Website
Mental and physical health is integral to our well-being as individuals and communities.
Overstory aims to help readers better understand what resources are available, how a person’s well-being intersects with one’s social and economic conditions, and what efforts are underway to improve our communities’ well-being.
Journalism can really remind people about the big picture, upstream, root causes about these things we may or may not be concerned about.
In recent years, Hawai‘i was ranked as the number one state for health care and as having the longest life expectancy in the nation. It also has lower rankings for rates of invasive cancer, heart disease mortality, diabetes and smoking compared with other states.
But look deeper and you’ll see disparities. For example, Native Hawaiian males have the lowest life expectancy of Hawai‘i’s five largest ethnic groups. Native Hawaiians and Filipinos reported lower health ratings and higher rates of food insecurity and poverty compared with their White counterparts, according to a June 2023 Rapid Health Survey of nearly 1,600 adult residents conducted by the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization.
We want to know what’s being done to address these disparities and improve equitable access and care. After all, health was one of the most popular topics residents said they want more information about during our statewide community listening project.
Big Island just as bad as others, you know, like Moloka‘i or Kaua‘i, where you’re facing just shortages generally for health care. We don’t have enough people working in healthcare.
A common comment we heard was a desire to know about the health resources that are already available in one’s community and how to access them.
Many community members, especially on the neighbor islands, talked about the physician shortage impacting their access to care. And residents across all counties shared that mental health is an issue in their communities, yet negative stigma and too few providers discourages many from successfully getting help.
Senior care was also highlighted as a concern, given that many families are unable to afford the high costs and instead rely on unpaid family caregivers who support their loved ones at home. According to AARP Hawai‘i, an estimated 154,000 caregivers provide 144 million hours of care to loved ones each year.
Hawai‘i’s senior population is growing rapidly and that growth will outpace that the number of keiki and those of working ages, according to a December 2024 UHERO report. By 2035, it’s projected that one in four Hawai‘i residents will be 65 or older, and many will be in the 75 and older age group.
We also heard an interest in efforts to help address health care gaps and uplift culturally competent care. For example, an O‘ahu resident told us she felt inspired by a group of midwives and mothers who filed a lawsuit last summer arguing that a state law requiring a specific midwifery license barred traditional Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners from providing maternal health care.
Having some sort of mental health focus is really important. I think for Hawaiʻi, one of the main issues is that it’s hard to get actual quality help. The cost of it is a lot more pricey, so that kind of pushes people away from even considering therapy or getting consultants as an option.
We also want to thoughtfully and respectfully elevate community members’ lived experiences and voices on Hawai‘i’s health challenges and solutions. Health is a complicated and sensitive topic, and we know not everyone wants to share their personal experiences publicly. However, we welcome those who are willing to share their stories because we believe that including these voices can help us all reflect on our shared challenges.
Please feel free to reach out with any suggestions, feedback or story ideas at [email protected].
Funder disclosure:
This community listening project was supported by The Listening Post Collective.
A note on why we aren’t using community members’ names:
We normally grant anonymity for specific circumstances (you can read our policy here), but we made an exception for this community listening project. Our focus was on building relationships and getting to know people and communities, rather than reporting. We’ll be aggregating the information we collected and sharing back key themes.
