The Office of Hawaiian Affiars (OHA) awarded ALAH $28,843 for its Maopopo Oli Hano (Understanding Asthma) program
By: Jean Evans
2/12/2010
HONOLULU-The
Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) has awarded $28,843 to the American Lung
Association in Hawaii (ALA Hawaii) for its Maopopo Oli Hano (Understanding
Asthma) program, a school-based asthma education and management program on
O`ahu, Maui and Hawai`i Island.
Maopopo Oli
Hano is a three part asthma education program which targets Native
Hawaiians/Part Hawaiians. The first component focuses on educating children
ages 8-11 diagnosed with asthma in the school setting. The second component
focuses on educating teachers, school personnel and caregivers. The third
component focuses on educating parents and guardians, making asthma management
and education a team effort.
This OHA
grant is one of 35 community grants totaling $2.2 million awarded in February
2010.
The State of
Hawaii has the second highest childhood asthma rate in the nation, with 10.8
percent of children ages 0-17 diagnosed with asthma. Per the Hawaii Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), there are 32,900 children ages 0-17
currently living in Hawaii with asthma. People of Native Hawaiian/Part Hawaiian
heritage are twice more likely to have asthma than any other ethnic group in
Hawaii. Leaving Native Hawaiian/Part Hawaiian’s with the highest rates of
asthma in our State. Hawaii’s high frequency of asthma difficulty is
partly caused by endemic year-round presence of asthma triggers stemming from
Hawaii’s topical climate which makes for abundant vegetation, pollen, high
humidity, dust mites, dust, cockroaches, and outdoor living.
