2008 Intensive Winter Institute Held in Honolulu
By Bridgette M. Brawner, PhD(c), APRN
SAMHSA MFP at ANA Pre-doctoral Fellow
University of Pennsylvania
Aloha!
The Third Annual MFP Intensive Winter Institute (IWI) convened from January 23–27, 2008 at the Waikiki Beach Marriot Resort & Spa in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Due to the location, many may assume that Fellows had a trip filled with fun in the sun, however, in traditional IWI fashion, our days were packed with informative, enlightening presentations and activities. The Institute theme was “Exploring Hawai‘i: It’s People, Culture, and Health Care” and focused on transdisciplinary evidence-based health care for diverse populations. There was also a major focus on health programs that have been designed to assure that there is a “Place in the Community for Everyone.”
Working closely with the Honorable Lieutenant Governor James “Duke” Aiona, Jr., and Ms. Jackie Hong from the Hawai‘i Department of Health, members of the MFP staff and National Advisory Committee put together an invaluable program for the Fellows. Through dynamic presentations, site visits to local substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities, and historic and cultural tours, Fellows were able to experience Hawai‘i in an unimaginable way. We participated in activities to learn about Hawai‘i’s people, the state’s mental health and substance abuse system, and prevalent health disparities among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Everyone welcomed us with open arms, and members of the Ko’olau Clubhouse (a psychosocial rehabilitation program for adults living with the challenges of mental illness) even hosted a program and lunch for the Fellows.
We learned about Hawai‘i’s unique sociocultural history, beginning with the original Polynesian settlers, all the way through discussion of how the colonization process affected (and continues to affect) the current health status of Hawai‘i’s indigenous people. For example, Native Hawaiians have poorer physical and mental health outcomes than Non-Natives. Learning facts such as individuals with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) were torn from their families and forced to live on a remote section of one of Hawai‘i’s islands, and that poorer health outcomes are seen among Native Hawaiians who strongly identify with their indigenous culture encapsulated social determinants of substance abuse and mental health disorders in a way that no text book would ever be able to do. Currently, several of the state’s lead providers, researchers, and policy makers are working to develop and evaluate culturally specific, evidence-based treatment programs to address these concerns; the Fellows had the pleasure of meeting and sharing ideas with many of these individuals.
“All work and no play makes for a very boring day”, so the IWI planners made sure that Fellows would at least have some time to enjoy the richness that Hawai‘i has to offer. The Lt. Governor hosted a well attended reception in honor of the Fellows at Washington Place. In a recent article he stated, “These individuals often serve in key leadership positions in mental health and substance abuse services…The Fellows are extremely accomplished doctoral candidates in nursing at leading higher education institutes across the nation.” Fellows also went on a cultural excursion to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Center and the Polynesian Cultural Center. These two sites painted a vivid picture of the island’s history, and were an opportunity for cultural “awakening” among many of the Fellows. At the Polynesian Cultural Center students attending the Brigham Young University in Hawaii put on a fascinating luau and show.
For the IWI, eminent leaders from the state took time out of their busy schedules to help achieve the objectives of the Institute. This included Dr ‘Iwalani Else, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), University of Hawaii at Manoa and Associate Director of the National Center for Indigenous Hawaiian Behavioral Health; Dr. Mary G. Boland, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene; Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, MD, Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii JABSOM; Dr. Joseph Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, PhD, Assistant Researcher and Associate Chairman of the Research and Evaluation Core in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the JABSOM; Mr. Michael Moriyama, MPH, Branch Chief of the Hansen’s Disease Branch of the Hawaii Department of Health; staff from the Hale Imua program (a model transitional residential program for conditional release consumers from Hawaii State Hospital); Poka Laenui, JD, Executive Director of the Wai‘anae Community Mental Health Center; and Dr. Kaman‘opono Crabbe, PhD, Director of the Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Community Health Center; and Ms. Michelle Hill, Deputy Director of Behavioral Health in the Hawaii Department of Health.
As with each Institute, Dr. Faye Gary, MFP Executive Program Consultant, and Dr. Hossein Yarandi, MFP Statistician and Evaluator, continued to foster and develop Fellows skills in research and statistics. Overall this was an inconceivably enlightening Institute which afforded a deeper appreciation for the complexities that are associated with health disparities from a multilevel perspective. Knowledge of Hawai‘i’s history reaffirms that there is more difference within groups than between groups, and many Fellows related to the experience of Native Hawaiians through their own cultural histories. This experience has fueled our passion to become distinguished leaders in a wide array of substance abuse and mental health activities!
Read the article posted on the Lt. Governor's website regarding our visit:
Mahalo,
Bridgette M. Brawner