Partnerships to Overcome Obesity Disparities in Hawaii: 18-month CBPR Study

Obesity and overweight are well recognized public health concerns in the US and the
magnitude of excess weight is greater among racial/ethnic minority populations. For NHs and
PPs 70 to 80% of adults are estimated to be overweight or obese. Obesity-related
disparities such as diabetes and heart disease (CVD) are also increasing among NHs and PPs.
To address obesity and related disparities, a community-based participatory research (CBPR)
partnership was formed entitled, the Partnership for Improving Lifestyle Interventions
(PILI) 'Ohana Program (Pili meaning relationship and 'Ohana meaning family). The PILI
'Ohana Program (POP) consists of 5 community organizations and the Department of Native
Hawaiian Health (DNHH) at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) of the University of
Hawai'i (UH). With a 3-year CBPR planning grant from the National Center on Minority Health
and Health Disparities (NCMHD), the POP was successful at establishing this
community-academic partnership aimed at obesity-related disparities in Hawai'i and in
implementing a pilot intervention to address weight loss maintenance (the PILI 'Ohana
Intervention) in NHs and PPs, which serves as preliminary data for this application. The
specific aims are as follow: 1) To identify the aspects of the PILI 'Ohana (family +
community focused) Intervention deemed effective by former participants and community-peer
educators of the pilot intervention. 2) To test whether a face-to-face or DVD delivery
method of the PILI 'Ohana intervention is effective in improving weight loss maintenance
versus a control group in NHs and PPs. 3) To identify the strengths of the PILI 'Ohana
Program that supports a co-learning and co-equal environment.