Grant To Support Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Data Lab At UCLA

LOS ANGELES, CA — The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research's Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Data Policy Lab has received a $1 million grant from The California Endowment, it was announced Tuesday.

The two-year grant will support the lab's Project Mahealani initiative, which focuses on expanding data access and data disaggregation for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities across California, according to UCLA officials.

The funding will also support the lab's efforts to incorporate feedback from Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities to help shape how research and data projects are developed and presented, officials said.

Launched in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lab was created to address gaps in public health data affecting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities and to make information more accessible to community groups, researchers and policymakers.

The lab has since developed free public data tools, training programs and county-level profiles using information from the California Health Interview Survey, American Community Survey and U.S. Census, officials said.

The profiles allow users to compare health and social data among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander subgroups, including CHamorros, Fijians, Native Hawaiians, Samoans and Tongans.

In 2024, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum recognized the lab with its inaugural Narrative Change Award for work focused on elevating Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community voices.

The grant announcement comes ahead of Thursday's launch of the lab's updated Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Social Determinants of Health dashboard during a noon webinar.

City News Service