The mission of the Office of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Health Research is to advance National Institutes of Health (NIH) efforts to support research, training, and community engagement to promote and improve the health of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities in the United States and its territories.
The NHPI Health Research Office, to be established within the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) in 2024, will:
Address health disparities in NHPI communities. Support the career development and training of NHPI health-focused researchers. Develop partnerships with academic institutions with a proven track record of working closely with NHPI communities and NHPI provider organizations to build research capacity.
NIH Inclusion Policy
NIH is committed to supporting clinical research that benefits all individuals, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or age. For more information about NIH's inclusion policy, see Inclusion Policy for Human Subjects Research and Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Participants in Human Subjects Research.
OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 Update (March 2024)
According to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Directive 15, the minority category (defined as a readily identifiable subset of the U.S. population distinguished by racial, ethnic, or cultural background) includes Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, separate from the Asian category.
OMB released a revised version of Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (Directive No. 15), “Standards for the Maintenance, Collection, and Presentation of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,” in March 2024 for the first time since 1997. The purpose of the revision is to obtain more accurate and useful data on race and ethnicity across the federal government.
Important revisions relevant to NHPI research include:
It combines race and ethnicity into one question, and requires that more detailed information be collected beyond the minimum race and ethnicity categories, including Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese, and a more detailed reporting category for “other groups,” with examples of Chuukese, Palauan, and Tahitian.
For more information, see the OMB website on recent revisions and updates to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15.
NHPI Program
NIH supports research and capacity development programs for the NHPI community, including:
RCMI: Ola Hawaii – University of Hawaii at Manoa
Established by Congress and administered by NIMHD, the Research Centers at Minority-Serving Institutions (RCMI) program strengthens the research base by cultivating and preparing future scientists at institutions that award doctoral degrees in health professions or health-related sciences and have a past and present commitment to serving students from underrepresented populations.
Ola HAWAII, an RCMI program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (U54MD007601), aims to improve the health outcomes of minority populations and reduce health disparities in Hawaiian communities that are disproportionately affected by poor health outcomes and limited access to health care.
Hawaii Clinical Research Network for Health Equity
The objective of the Hawaii Health Equity Clinical Research Network (UG3MD018358) program is to establish a health equity clinical research network in Hawaii and develop and regularly update a patient data repository from electronic health records in Hawaii's two largest health care delivery systems that will provide collaborative research opportunities and real-time health disparities needs assessments across Hawaii.
Pacific Indigenous Observational Health Heritage Study
The Multi-Ethnic Observational Study in American Asian Pacific Islander Communities (MOSAAIC) cohort will be initiated in 2023 by NHLBI and is supported by NHGRI, NIMH, NIMHD, and NINDS.
MOSAAIC is an epidemiological cohort study evaluating cardiovascular health and disease in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. The PONO Health Heritage Study (UG3HL169657), based at the University of Hawaii, is one of five U.S. research sites focusing on the health and well-being of Native Hawaiians and Micronesian Pacific Islanders related to biological, environmental, behavioral, social, and cultural factors.
NIH CEAL: American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Enrichment Initiative
The Community Engagement Alliance for Health and Care Excellence (CEAL) was established in 2023 by NIH as part of the nation's federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has expanded to include programs addressing more areas of health disparities. CEAL's mission is to advance health equity, improve health outcomes, and strengthen community partnerships through community-engaged research that addresses racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities.
The American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AI/AN NHPI) Enrichment Initiative was established to engage groups with expertise, capacity, and a demonstrable track record in community engagement and outreach within these communities to join CEAL in addressing health disparities.
Multi-ethnic cohort study
The Multi-Ethnic Diet and Cancer Cohort (MEC) (U01CA164973) was established in 1993 with funding from the National Cancer Institute to investigate risk factors for cancer and other chronic diseases. Established in Hawaii and Southern California, the MEC study is one of the largest and most diverse cohort studies in the world, enrolling more than 215,000 participants from five different racial and ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic whites, blacks and African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Pacific Genomics Research Center
The Genomics Research Diversity Centers program supports the development of innovative genomic research projects through infrastructure building and the formation of interdisciplinary research teams at minority-serving institutions. The program is jointly funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute and NIMHD.
The Pacific Genomics Research Center (U54HG013243), based at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM), plans to develop and support UHM's genomics research workforce. UHM's mission is to serve populations that have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research.
Funding Opportunities
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notifications
NIMHD-approved Funding Concept: Research to Understand and Address Health Disparities among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders will support multidisciplinary research to understand, particularly upstream, risks, protective factors, and challenges that impact the health of the NHPI population, and to develop and test intervention and prevention strategies.
Events and Resources
NIMHD-Led NHPI Health Research Workshop
The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Health Research Workshop, held in February 2024, brought together researchers, subject matter experts, community leaders, and NHPI health advocates to identify important health outcomes and needs that impact our communities, research gaps, and research opportunities to advance NHPI health and reduce health disparities. Access the agenda and watch the workshop video.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month
NIH’s theme for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month 2024, “Celebrating Belonging,” highlighted the contributions AA and NHPI people have made at NIH, who make up more than 20 percent of the NIH workforce.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Affairs celebrates AANHPI Heritage Month through its 2024 theme, “Being a Source of Better Health: Improving Health Outcomes through Our Culture, Community, and Connections,” calling on people to understand how the environment, culture, history, and unique circumstances of AA and NHPI populations impact their health.
NIMHD’s AANHPI Heritage Month 2024 Conversations with Researchers series celebrated the significant contributions to America by those representing the AA and NHPI communities and spotlighted two researchers who are advancing health equity through community-engaged research.
AANHPI Scientific Interest Group
The NIH Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health Science Interest Group fosters scientific communication, shares and disseminates information, promotes collaboration and education, assesses research needs, and makes recommendations to NIH leadership on research to improve the health and well-being of AA and NHPI populations.
White House Initiative on AANHPI
In 2024, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) was established, unveiling a first-of-its-kind U.S. strategy to advance safety and equity for these communities.
This page was published on August 29, 2024
