Filipinos in Hawaii have high rates of end-stage renal failure and are disproportionately represented on the local transplant waiting list. The goal of the proposed project is to increase cadaveric organ, tissue and eye donation by Filipinos in Hawaii through a comprehensive statewide education program. The project's alms are to increase donor card signing and family discussions among Hawaii Filipinos as well as to increase the number of cadaveric organ donors to 35% of Hawaii donors. The project will partner with Filipino health, social, cultural and religious organizations and will use interviews, review of records, focus groups and surveys to: identify why Filipinos have historically low rates of donation; evaluate Hawaii's previous Filipino education program (MOTTEP of Honolulu); and develop minority-targeted messages delivered by ethnically and culturally-similar and sensitive messengers. The messages will emphasize use of personal experiences, trusted community leaders and mechanisms such as informal networks and Filipino media. Filipino health care workers will also be trained to assist the local organ procurement organization in offering the option of donation to Filipino families of potential organ donors. Because Filipinos will soon comprise the largest Asian-American ethnic group in the United States, Bayanihan may serve as the model for other under-represented minority ethnic groups throughout the United States in the future.
| Albright, Cheryl L; Wong, Linda L; Dela Cruz, May Rose et al. (2010) Choosing to be a designated organ donor on their first driver's license: actions, opinions, intentions, and barriers of Asian American and Pacific Islander adolescents in Hawaii. Prog Transplant 20:392-400 |
| Albright, Cheryl L; Wong, Linda L; Dela Cruz, May Rose et al. (2007) Factors associated with organ donation in Filipino Americans: results from Hawai'i's Bayanihan Project. Hawaii Med J 66:181-4 |
