Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 6, 1 June 1996 — Waiʻanae health center uses culture to inform anel educate Hawaiian women about cancer [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waiʻanae health center uses culture to inform anel educate Hawaiian women about cancer

by Kelli Meskin The Wai'anae Cancer Research Project, a project of the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center was honored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for their approach to informing Native Hawaiian women ^ about the need for breast and cervical cancer screening. The Wai'anae Cancer Research Project was one of 10 awardees who

received national f recognition at the 20th I anniversary celebra- % tion of the Cancer * Information Service (CIS) in San Francisco thi:

past March. The Wai'anae Cancer Research Project was designed by community residents, staff of the Wai'anae Coast« Comprehensive

Health Center and researchers from the Cancer

Research Center of Hawai'i to test the effectiveness of an innovative and culturally sensitive approach to informing Native Hawaiian women on the Wai'anae Coast about breast and cervical cancer. The project used Hawaiian values like kōkua, laulima and 'ohana to inform women and to break down old ideas and fears. Discussion groups, called Kōkua Groups, of five women were organized by community outreach "navigators" and volunteer peer leaders. In the Kōkua Groups women spoke about their fears and the risks of cancer.

"There was no Western influence whatsoever except for the information," said Nalani Tavares, from the Wai'anae Cancer Research Project, Women's Heahh Network, and the Wai'anae Comprehensive Health Center. Native Hawaiian women have the highest breast and cervical cancer mortality rates of any ethnic group in the state of Hawai'i, and one third of native Hawaiian women are

diagnosed with breast cancer at later, harder to treat staees.

"The Wai'anae Cancer Research Project was a i participatory eommuni-

| i\ p ty research project ; ' j?y based upon Hawaiian ' y culture and values," said y Brian Issell, principal investi- ' gator of the CIS of Hawai'i and co-principal investigator of the Wai'anae Cancer Research

Project. "The CIS provid- > ed the up-to-date cancer information and staff

traimng, while the project staff, m eollaboration with representatives from the Wai'anae community, put the message directly into the bands of women." The results of the Wai'anae eommunity project manifested significant changes in cancer related knowledge, attitudes and behavior. "You don't realize you're following the old system but you are," Tavares said. The National Cancer Institute agreed to fund the five-year project in 1991, and, as a result of the end of the funding for the Kōkua Groups, the Wai'anae Women's Health Network

was recently started. The network will attempt to continue to inform and nurture the women in the Wai'anae eommunity, and to impress upon them the importance of regular cancer screenings.

"The Wai'anae Cancer Research Project was a participatory eommunity research project based upon Hawaiian culture and values/' — Brian Issel

Loeal organizations including the Amenean Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Coalition-Kaua'i Unit and Hilo's Hui Mālama Ola Nā 'Oiwi were recognized by NCĪ along with the Wai'anae Cancer Research Project for their efforts to deliver cancer prevention, detection, and treatment messages to minority and underserved populations. These organizations were awarded certificates of recognition for their achievements in reducing the burden of cancer in minority eommunities. Several products have been developed to disseminate the Wai'anae Cancer Research Projects findings, methods and materials. For more information contact Nalani Tavares, Wai'anae Women Health Network, Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, 86-260 Farrington Hwy., Wai'anae, Hawai'i 96792, or eall 696-1599.