KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - A new report by Public Health - Seattle & King County documents the health of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders living in King County for the first time, pointing out higher rates of poverty, smoking, and poor birth outcomes among this population when compared with the general population. This new report is important for understanding and addressing health inequities affecting these communities.
“Our goal in King County is for all communities to live in good health, and it’s essential to expose challenges where they exist.” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “For the first time, we are able to closely look at our Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations in King County. These communities are strong and diverse, but they are also experiencing inequities.”
“The new ways of collecting health information specific to Pacific Islanders makes official what we have known to be the critical health issues and needs in our community,” said Pastor Mabel Fatialofa-Magalei, director of PASEFIKA and board member of the Pacific Island Women's Association. “As individuals and a community, we will take responsibility to do what needs to be done to stem the tide of these alarming statistics.”
“This enables our community and partners to advocate for research, education, preventative strategies and services that address the health disparities in our community,” added Fatialofa-Magalei.
Among the findings in the Public Health Data Watch report, “Health of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders in King County”:
- Over 15,000 Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHPI) lived in King County in 2006. NHPI children were twice as likely as King County children overall to live below the poverty line.
- Compared to King County, NHPI adults were one-and-a-half times more likely to be current smokers and twice as likely to be obese or report no leisure-time physical activity. NHPI adults were about as likely to report fair/poor health or diabetes as King County residents overall.
- Smoking and overweight were more common among NHPI school-age youth than for King County youth overall.
- NHPI infants more frequently were very low birth weight, high birth weight, prematurely delivered, born to teen mothers, and received late or no prenatal care compared with all King County infants.
- NHPI had higher death rates than King County residents overall.
The full report can be viewed online (PDF). Information on health inequities affecting the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander communities was not available before changes in recent years for data collection rules. In this report, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders refers to any of the peoples of Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Tonga, Micronesia, French Polynesia, Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands who now live in King County.
The King County Equity and Social Justice Initiative makes tracking and addressing inequities a priority of county government. This report will support policymakers and community organizations in King County in addressing health inequities.
Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day.
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