Eleventh International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

The Pasifika region has the highest rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the world — and diet and weight-related health issues have been rising since the 1970s. Now approximately one in three residents of American Samoa suffers from diabetes and 93.5% American Samoa population are overweight or obese. Educators at the University of Hawaii created online health education courses that were culturally-responsive while addressing critical health concerns with K-12 teachers in the Pacific. Culturally-responsive teaching is a pedagogy that empowers learners intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Pacific teachers were able to utilize both content and online instructional strategies during the Measles and COVID 19 Pandemic, which shut down travel and F2F education in American Samoa. The purpose of sharing this case study from the Pacific is to prompt dialog and reflection about the importance of making social/cultural connections with learners in health education.