Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Health Research Office
The mission of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Health Research Office is to advance the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) efforts to support research, training, and community engagement that promotes and improves the health of NHPI communities in the United States and its territories.
The NHPI Health Research Office, established in 2024, within NIMHD will:
- Address disproportionate burden of diseases in NHPI communities to improve health.
- Support career development and training for researchers focused on NHPI health.
- Develop partnerships with academic institutions that have a track record of working closely with NHPI communities and NHPI-serving organizations to build research capacity.
NIH Inclusion Policies
The NIH is committed to supporting clinical research that benefits all individuals. For more information about NIH’s inclusion policies, please visit Inclusion Policies for Research Involving Human Subjects and Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects.
Updated OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (March 2024)
According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Directive No. 15, categories for minority groups — defined as a readily identifiable subset of the U.S. population that is distinguished by racial, ethnic, and/or cultural heritage — includes Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, separate from the Asian category.
The OMB published a revision to the Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (Directive No. 15), Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, in March 2024, the first since 1997. The purpose of the revisions is to have more accurate and useful data on race and ethnicity across the federal government.
Significant revisions related to NHPI research include:
- Combining race and ethnicity as one question.
- Requirement to collect more detail beyond minimum race and ethnicity categories, including detailed reporting categories for Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, and Marshallese, and “Another group” with noted examples of Chuukese, Palauan, and Tahitian.
Visit the OMB website for more information, recent revisions and updates to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15.
NHPI Programs
The NIH supports research and capacity-building programs for NHPI communities, including:
RCMI: Ola HAWAII – University of Hawai’i at Manoa
The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program, established by Congress and administered by the NIMHD, strengthens the research infrastructure by developing and preparing future scientists at institutions that award doctoral degrees in the health professions or health-related sciences and have demonstrated historical and current commitment to serving students underrepresented in biomedical sciences.
The RCMI program at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa (U54MD007601), Ola HAWAII, seeks to improve minority health and reduce health disparities for communities in Hawaii that disproportionately experience negative health outcomes and limited health care access.
Pacific Ocean Native Observational (PONO) Health Legacy Study
The Multi-ethnic Observational Study in American Asian and Pacific Islander Communities (MOSAAIC) cohort was launched in 2023 by NHLBI and is supported by NHGRI, NIMH, NIMHD, and NINDS.
MOSAAIC is an epidemiological cohort study that evaluates cardiovascular health and disease in Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Based at the University of Hawaii, the PONO Health Legacy Study (UG3HL169657) is one of five sites in the United States that will focus on the health and well-being of Native Hawaiian and Micronesian Pacific Islanders in Hawaii linked 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 (CEAL) established by NIH as part of the nation’s federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has expanded to include programs that address more areas of health disparities. CEAL’s mission is to promote health, improve health outcomes, and strengthen community partnerships through community-engaged research that addresses racial and ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities.
The American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AI/AN NHPI) Enrichment Initiative was established to involve groups with the skills, availability, and demonstrable achievements in community engagement and outreach within AI/AN NHPI communities.
Multiethnic Cohort Study
The Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) (U01CA164973) of Diet and Cancer, initially funded by the National Cancer Institute in 1993, was set up to examine risk factors for cancer and other chronic diseases. Established in Hawaii and Southern California, the MEC Study is one of the world’s largest cohort studies, having enrolled 215,000+ participants from five different racial and ethnic groups, including people who are non-Hispanic White, Black and African American, Hispanic and Latino, Asian American, and Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.
Funding Opportunities
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
NIMHD Approved Funding Concept: Research to Understand and Address Health Disparities in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Populations supports multidisciplinary research to understand the risks, protective factors, and challenges, particularly upstream, that affect the NHPI population’s health, and to develop and test interventions and prevention strategies.
Events & Resources
NIMHD-led Workshop on Research on NHPI Health
Held in February 2024, the Workshop on Research on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Health gathered researchers, subject matter experts, community leaders, and advocates for NHPI health to identify critical health outcomes and needs affecting communities, gaps in research, and opportunities for research promoting NHPI health and reducing health disparities. Access the agenda and view the workshop videos.
AANHPI Scientific Interest Group
NIH’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health Scientific Interest Group fosters scientific communication, shares and disseminates information, facilitates collaborations 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.
Page updated March 7, 2025 | published Aug. 29, 2024
