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Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) Populations

Painting of Island dancers by Monessa Kim age 13 Chuuk State

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) are people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands,1 even if they do not live in the Pacific Islands. According to the 2000 Census, those who identify only as NHOPI comprise 0.1 percent of the American population, or almost 400,000 individuals.  Until 2000, NHOPIs were grouped with Asian Americans in studies of race and ethnicity.  For this reason, there are no population growth projections for NHOPIs at this time.  NHOPIs live throughout the United States, but their populations are most concentrated in the western mainland states and Hawaii.2

Though historically grouped with Asian Americans for data collection, NHOPI was assigned as a distinct category for the 2000 Census.  NHOPIs generally experience poorer health than the American population as a whole: they are more at risk for developing and dying from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases.  Factors contributing to poor health outcomes among NHOPIs include cultural barriers, limited access to health care, and poor nutrition and lifestyle.3

For more details about Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations, see US Census 2000 Brief: The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population.

Ten Leading Causes of death in the U.S. in 2001 for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:

  1. Cancer
  2. Heart disease
  3. Stroke
  4. Unintentional injuries
  5. Diabetes
  6. Chronic lower respiratory disease
  7. Influenza and Pneumonia
  8. Suicide
  9. Nephritis, Nephrotic syndrome, and Nephrosis
  10. Homicide

Source: Health, U.S., 2003, Table 31.

In addition, NHOPIs have disproportionately high prevalence of the following conditions and risk factors:

Maroon Square Hepatitis B
Maroon Square HIV/AIDS
Maroon Square Tuberculosis (TB)

For more information about these topics see the following links:
  National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
  National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSPT)
  National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
  National Immunization Program (NIP)
  National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  American Cancer Society (ACS)
  American Diabetes Association (ADA)
    Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, & Diabetes
  American Heart Association (AHA)
  American Lung Association (ALA)
  National SIDS Resource Center (NSRC)

Other Resources for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders:
  Social Security Online - Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
  Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders Mental Health Fact Sheet
  Culturally Specific Mental Health Resources for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
  Healthfinder: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
  Medline Plus: Asian American Health
  Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative
  Pacific American Research Center


Funding:
  CDC Funding Opportunities


Sources:

  1 Census Bureau, Census 2000 Brief: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000.
  2 Census Bureau, Census 2000.
  3 The Health Care Challenge: Acknowledging Disparity, Confronting Discrimination, and Ensuring Equality. United States Commission on Civil Rights, Sept. 1999.

Notes:

  Census 2000 adheres to the federal standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 1997 and subsequent guidelines.  One of the most important changes for Census 2000 was the revision of the questions on race and Hispanic origin to better reflect the country’s growing diversity. The federal government considers race and Hispanic origin to be two separate and distinct concepts. In addition, Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders are counted as two separate and distinct racial groups. Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the U.S. population over time.
  Census Bureau Glossary of Terms: Race, 2000.
  Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Provisional Guidance on the Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 2000.
  Office of Management and Budget Recommendations from the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 1997.


 

 

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Last Updated on November 03, 2004
Office of Minority Health

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