Citation

Rehuher D, Hiramatsu T, Helm S. Hawaii J. Public Health 2008; 1(1): 52-61.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Hawai'i State Department of Health)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Objective. Publicly funded health and human services increasingly require the use of nationally-endorsed programs, therefore we review these youth drug prevention programs through the lens of Hawaii-based practitioners. This review indicated a chasm in contextually relevant programs and practices created for or by Native Hawaiian, Asian-American, and other Pacific Peoples. This problem is outlined and then we describe a rationale for using participatory research to develop practice-based evidence in drug prevention that is contextually relevant to youth, their families and communities, and youth-serving organizations in Hawaii. Practice-based evidence refers to locally designed, implemented, and evaluated practice; thus providing evidence about what is working (and how) for a specific context. Contextual relevance refers both to ethnocultural significance, and place- based neighborhood and community dynamics.

Methods: We conducted a detailed examination of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's national registers of evidence-based youth drug prevention. We sampled programs designated as appropriate for Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islanders, and analyzed for contextual relevance.

Results: Results indicated that nationally-endorsed youth drug prevention programs are not contextually relevant to Hawaii. As of December 2007, we had identified six programs listed as relevant for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander youth on the national evidence-based practices directory. In spite of this, five of these programs' evaluations did not include sample populations that reflect the majority ethnocultural groups in Hawaii. Only one program was implemented and evaluated in Hawai'i, thus reflecting Hawaii's diverse population, albeit a cultural adaptation.

Conclusion: Participatory research can mitigate this gap through practice-based evidence. We view this as an opportunity for Hawai'i and the Pacific to chart the course for participatory prevention science, in other words, a prevention paradigm that is practice-based and contextually relevant. Several organizations have embarked on this journey, and are briefly described.