 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Juliet McMullin, PhD, Health Policy and Research, University of California, Irvine - College of Medicine, 100 Theory, suite 110, Irvine, CA 92697-5800, 949.824.7170, jmcmulli@uci.edu and Carolyn M. Kualii, National Native American AIDS Prevention Center, 436 14th Street - Suite 1020, Oakland, CT 94612.
In the Journals of Captain James Cook of 1778, the Natives of the Hawaiian Islands were people of “above middle size, strong, muscular built who walk gracefully, run nimbly and capable of great fatigue”. The Natives of Hawai`i were people whose culture and social systems were defined by their genealogical relationships to their Gods, Chiefs, lands and one another. It was this kind of relationship that Hawaiians believed brought balance and good health in everyday living. In today’s contemporary Native Hawaiians society, reports of poor health statistics prompted alarm among themselves and health officials. Early efforts by the medical community to change the behaviors of an “unhealthy” population met with resistance. In subsequent endeavors, by Native Hawaiians and other health workers, to prevent disease in the population, the emergence of “new” ways of thinking about health, based on “the ways of Hawaiian ancestors,” reframed the struggle for health in terms of revitalizing Hawaiian health and cultural identity. Drawing on interviews with Native Hawaiians on the islands of Maui and Hawai`i, this presentation examines what is means to be a “healthy Hawaiian.” The second half of this presentation will look at the concept of this term “healthy Hawaiian” and show the correlation of this definition in relationship to how Native Hawaiians living with HIV/AIDS engage in Bio-medical care and treatment and what is a “healthy Hawaiian” in terms of their everyday life as a Native Hawaiian living with HIV/AIDS.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Hawaiian Natives, HIV/AIDS
Related Web page: www.nnaapc.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine
The National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.