Following two years of outreach, surveys and discussions, Long Beach presented its first-ever Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Community Health Needs Assessment Tuesday evening. 

As part of the City’s efforts to identify the strengths and health challenges in each unique community, Long Beach organizations have helped to create a number of these demographic-specific health needs assessments. In recent years, the City has released the Mi Vida Cuenta Latinx Health Initiative on the Latino community and the Filipino Community Health Needs Assessment. 

Health needs assessments on the Black community, the Cambodian community and LGBTQIA2S+ community are in the process of being completed. 

The NHPI Health Needs Assessment began in 2023 by combining the powers of five local community-serving groups to form the Filipino Community Advisory Committee. These groups included the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum, the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation, the Southern California Pacific Islander Community Response Team, the FOU Movement and Empowering Pacific Islander Communities. 

The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum played a pivotal role in the creation of Long Beach’s first-ever Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Community Health Needs Assessment. (Kristen Farrah Naeem | Signal Tribune)

Long Beach is home to more than 2,400 NHPIs, according to preliminary data gathered by the City. Each organization helped to administer surveys to the community. The 130 responses then guided later listening sessions and discussions.

The most important takeaways from the data gathered, as presented by various committee members, include: 

The NHPI community would likely benefit from tailored health interventions and programs, since the community values cultural and family-driven approaches.
Only a small percentage of the community relies on medication to manage health conditions such as asthma, hypertension and heart disease. At this time, it’s unclear if this is due to a lack of resources or a lack of education on how medication can help people experiencing these issues.
A significant portion  of the NHPI current and former residents surveyed said they rely on prayer to manage their health and pain.
24% of respondents say they have been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
16% of respondents say they have been diagnosed with diabetes.
14% of respondents say they have been told they are pre-diabetic.
11.5% of respondents say they have been diagnosed with asthma.

Once health data was gathered, the committee recruited four local artists to help interpret the information in creative ways their community can easily understand. This resulted in a painting, a play, a song and a dance. 

A group of students sit together and watch as speakers address the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 during the CSULB commencement ceremony. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Highest priority needs include: 

More access to affordable healthy foods
Culturally-grounded care that removes the existing stigma surrounding mental health
Efforts to increase economic security such as housing resources, renters assistance, financial literacy workshops and institutional support for NHPI students

Over half of the survey participants are Samoan, 30% are Tongan, 19% are Chamorro, 3% are Tahitian, and 2% are Fijian. Only 17% of the responses were from Long Beach residents, while the rest of the responses came from people who used to live in Long Beach. This was done intentionally to include the perspectives of those who have been displaced over the years, a committee member said. 

Half of the participants were born in the United States, while 40% said they were born in a different country and 10% preferred not to answer. 

The committee presented five calls to action to the Long Beach City Council: 

Grant funding to help establish health programs that address needs in the NHPI community
More NHPI participation in the housing voucher program
City funding for biennial health needs assessments
Protection from immigration raids
Funding for programs that allow artists to interpret data

The NHPI Health Needs Assessment is not yet published on the City’s website. The Signal Tribune reached out to the Health Department on Oct. 17 to request the health assessment be made public.