Health Disparities Across Generations

Overview
Colonial policies, land loss, and cultural suppression contributed to severe health disparities for Native Hawaiians, still visible today.

Key Facts

• Life expectancy: Native Hawaiians live, on average, 6–10 years less than the state’s overall population.

• Chronic disease: Higher rates of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and certain cancers than any other ethnic group in Hawaiʻi.

• Mental health: Disproportionate rates of depression and suicide among Native Hawaiian youth.

• Substance abuse: Higher prevalence compared to state averages, linked to intergenerational trauma and poverty.

• Infant mortality: Historically double the rate of other groups in Hawaiʻi.

• COVID-19 impact: Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders suffered disproportionately high infection and hospitalization rates.

Why It Matters

• These disparities are not genetic they are rooted in systemic discrimination, poverty, and cultural loss.

• Restoring Hawaiian practices of diet, medicine, and spirituality are proven protective factors.

• Kamehameha Schools supports cultural health programs, ʻāina-based education, and research that restore Hawaiian well-being.

Sources

• Papa Ola Lōkahi health reports

• UH John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) Native Hawaiian Health data

• Hawaiʻi Department of Health statistics