More than 80 students, researchers, health professionals and community members gathered on October 18, at Palama Settlement for the 3rd annual Araw ng Saliksik: Health Research Report Back to the Filipino Community. The event was organized by Pinerds, a group of Hawaiʻi’s Filipino health researchers, founded by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute (HIPHI).
Araw ng Saliksik—Tagalog for “Day of Research”—was created to share studies, stories and ideas that improve the health of Filipinos in Hawaiʻi. It also ensures that research involving Filipinos is conducted with the community and shared back in meaningful, accessible ways.
Honoring heritage through research
Research in the Filipino community is thriving with its own Filipino researchers.
—May Rose Dela Cruz
This year’s program coincided with the Filipino American History Month theme, “From Quotas to Communities: Filipino American Migration and Movement.” The theme honored the journeys of the first sakadas (Filipino plantation workers) who arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1906 and the continued stories of migration, identity and belonging among Filipino families today.
Photographs of ancestors were placed at the front of the room, inviting attendees to honor those who came before them. Reflective activities encouraged participants to map their families’ home provinces in the Philippines and share intergenerational memories and traditions.
The event included remarks from Clemen Montero of the UH Mānoa Center for Philippine Studies, and May Rose Dela Cruz, founder of Pinerds, director of community health research at HIPHI, and associate researcher with the UH Mānoa Department of Public Health Sciences.
“Research in the Filipino community is thriving with its own Filipino researchers,” said Dela Cruz. “Conducting research with this community is important, but it’s just as important to share the data and stories back to them so they can see the fruits of their contributions and feel empowered to be part of the decisions that impact their health.”
Students leading the way in research
Students from Waipahu and Farrington high schools showcased projects on Filipino health and community, followed by undergraduate, graduate and medical students from the UH Mānoa’s Department of Public Health Sciences and the John A. Burns School of Medicine, who presented on mental health, caregiving and chronic disease.
Community organizations, including the Hawaiʻi Workers Center, Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association and UH Cancer Center, also shared resources and information.
