{"id":117277,"date":"2020-05-01T16:38:15","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T02:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=117277"},"modified":"2020-07-02T10:16:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T20:16:00","slug":"nhpi-hardest-hit-by-covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/05\/01\/nhpi-hardest-hit-by-covid19\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities hardest hit by COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"coronavirus\"<\/p>\n

A new study from the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>) reports that the highest rate of COVID-19<\/abbr> positive cases in several U.S.<\/abbr> states, including Hawaiʻi<\/span>, are among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI<\/abbr>) more than other racial and ethnic groups.<\/p>\n

The research showed as high as 217.7 cases per 100,000 in NHPI<\/abbr> residents in at least five states—Hawaiʻi<\/span>, California, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The rates of COVID-19<\/abbr> positive cases within these states are greater than those reported for African Americans and American Indians, two racial\/ethnic groups that have been receiving much of the national attention regarding COVID-19<\/abbr> risk.<\/p>\n

\"Keaweaimoku
Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indigenous peoples share similar concerns that put them at an increased risk for COVID-19<\/abbr> and other related problems. These include limited access to healthcare services, more chronic and infectious diseases and poorer economic and living conditions. <\/p>\n

“These are all long-standing health concerns for indigenous people that predate the arrival of COVID-19<\/abbr>, but they are even more concerning now,” said Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula<\/span><\/strong>, professor and chair of JABSOM<\/abbr>\u2019s Department of Native Hawaiian Health<\/a>, who has been tracking and analyzing the data.<\/p>\n

Issues linked to higher risk<\/h2>\n

According to Kaholokula, the higher risk of infection among NHPI<\/abbr> is linked to preexisting and underlying inequities in the social determinants of health across racial and ethnic groups that are ubiquitous in the U.S.<\/abbr> These include:<\/p>\n