Chronic DiseaseKamaehuNCT07536256
Community Connections Through Native Hawaiian Cultural Values to Strengthen Youth Resilience, Health, and Well-Being
A study testing Community Referral to Kaiona Programs in people with Chronic Disease and Adolescent Asthma, run by Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn if a community referral program can improve services for youth with mental health and chronic health conditions in a predominantly Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 12 to 25 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Chronic Disease, Adolescent Asthma, Obesity & Overweight
- What is being tested?
- Community Referral to Kaiona Programs
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 10 Apr 2026to 31 Aug 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 12 to 25 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- youth 12 to 25 years of age;
- live in the Wai'anae zip code 96792;
- utilize Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) for their healthcare, including the WCCHC School-based Health Centers;
- assessed by WCCHC providers as being "at-promise" or having a physical or behavioral/mental health concern that may benefit from further support from Kaiona CBO Programs. Conditions may include chronic disease risk factors such as asthma, obesity, diabetes, or prediabetes, as well as behavioral health concerns.
Who cannot join
- Rather than strict exclusionary criteria, we will rely on the onboarding process that allows for screening for program fit at 4 levels: the referring Pediatric/Behavioral Health provider, the Community Connections Manager, the youth participant/family member, and the receiving CBO. All 4 of these levels will need to assess a potential participant as fit to participate. General considerations include ability to work in groups with other youth, ability to be outdoors for hours at a time, and ability to receive basic instruction and complete basic physical and cognitive tasks associated with the program independently. All 4 layers will also have the opportunity to end the youth's participation in the program at any point if serious safety or health concerns arise for the participant or others involved in the program. If a participant needs to leave a program, the Community Connections Manager will remain engaged with the youth and family to explore other options through the pilot or elsewhere.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
Waianae, Hawaii, 96792
Blane K Garcia, MPH, 808-697-3272, blanekc@hawaii.edu
May M Okihiro, MD, MS
About this study
Official title: Kamaehu o ke Kaiāulu: Fostering Community Connections Through Native Hawaiian Cultural Values to Strengthen Youth Resilience, Health, and Well-Being
The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn if a community referral program can improve services for youth with mental health and chronic health conditions in a predominantly Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. The main questions the trial aims to address are:
- What is the best way for a community health center to connect youth with community programs rooted in cultural practices and traditions?
- Does participation in community programs engage youth and mental health and chronic health outcomes?
Read more
Participants will:
- Participate in a community program for youth that will strengthen connection to 'āina (land) and culture. Programs in the summer are 5 hours per day, 4 days a week, for 4 weeks. Programs in the school-year are 2.5 hours per day, 2 days a week, for 16 weeks.
- Take surveys on their demographics, general well-being, mental health, and chronic health conditions they may have at 4 different times: Before the program begins, immediately after the program finishes, 3-4 months after finishing, and 6-8 months after finishing.
- Have an adult family member complete surveys on their youth's demographics and general well-being at the same 4 times
Read the detailed description
Pilot Clinical Trial Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of community organizations' Kaiona Programs in improving adolescent and young adult health and well-being.
Objectives:
- Assess the effectiveness of the Kaiona Programs in enhancing health and well-being outcomes among adolescents using a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial.
- Evaluate the implementation of fidelity, dosage, and reach of the intervention across different community organizations.
- Identify barriers and facilitators to successful implementation that can inform subsequent scaling of the program and share results with 'Aha Kū community council members and other key partners
- Conditions
- Chronic Disease, Adolescent Asthma, Obesity & Overweight, Youth Mental Health, Youth Obesity, Prediabetes
- Being tested
- Community Referral to Kaiona Programs
- Keywords
- Adolescent Health Services, Community Health Centers, Mental Health Services, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Community Health Services, Adolescent, Young Adult, Child, youth mental health
- Medical subject headings
- Chronic Disease, Obesity, Overweight, Prediabetic State, Asthma
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Community Referral to Kaiona ProgramsBehavioural
Youth will be recruited to participate in 'āina-based (natural environment-based) Kaiona programming at one of 5 well known community-based organizations. 1) Hoa 'Āina o Mākaha; 2) Ka'ala Farm; 3) E Ala Voyaging Academy; 4) PALS; and 5) MA'O Organic Farm. The program will consist of approximately 80 hours of Kaiona programming through an assigned CBO, delivered either as a summer intensive (four weeks, four days per week, five hours per day) or semester-long format (16 weeks, two days per week, 2.5 hours per day). This dosage provides meaningful cultural engagement while accommodating family and academic obligations. While Kaiona programming will not be strictly scripted, all programs will feature activities that promote cultural values identified by community leaders as foundational to the local perception of health and well being.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Kaiona Programs Arm | Experimental | Single arm Receives: Behavioral: Community Referral to Kaiona Programs |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change from Baseline in Kaiona Survey Participant Responses
The Kaiona Survey is an instrument developed to measure health and wellness based on local community values, embodied in the Kaiona Framework. In this framework, wellness is embodied by four values: mauli ola, a balanced state of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental health; waiwai, abundance and prosperity; pilina, mutually sustaining relationships; and ea, self-determination and agency.
Measured: 4 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, 3-4 months after program completion, and 6-8 months after program completion
Change from Baseline in Harvard Adolescent Flourishing Measure
The Harvard Adolescent Flourishing Measure is a 12-item survey to measure adolescent well-being around 5 domains - happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Change from Baseline in PHQ-9 Modified for Adolescents Survey
The PHQ-9 Modified for Adolescents Survey (PHQ-A) is a 13-item self-administered tool to screen and measure severity of depression based on the DSM-IV criteria. 3 items specifically screen for suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Change from Baseline in Pediatric Symptom Checklist
The Pediatric Symptom Checklist is a 17-item screening survey for youth 11 years and older to facilitate recognition of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral concerns.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Change from Baseline in Positive Childhood Experiences Score
The Positive Childhood Experiences Score (PCE) is a 7-item survey to retrospectively assess positive childhood experiences, especially interpersonal experiences that serve as assets and resources for developing children.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Secondary outcomes (3)
Change from Baseline in Asthma Control Test
Survey will be given to those participants who enter the program with an existing diagnosis of asthma.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Change from Baseline in Diabetes Self-Care Inventory
Survey will be given to those participants who enter the program with an existing diagnosis of diabetes.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Change from Baseline in Obesity Pediatric Weight Questionnaire
Survey will be given to those participants who enter the program with an existing diagnosis of overweight/obesity.
Measured: 3 time points: Baseline at enrollment, immediate endpoint within 1-2 weeks of completion of intervention program, and 6-8 months after program completion
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted17 Apr 2026
- Study start10 Apr 2026
- Primary completion31 Aug 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Aug 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Chronic DiseaseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Model description
- Hybrid type 2 design with stepped wedge intervention design
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Hawaii
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- May M Okihrio, MD, MS, Principal investigator, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07536256
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NIH: ODTOD035880-01
- Other IDs
- 3OT2OD035880-01S2
- Acronym
- Kamaehu
- Status last verified
- Apr 2026
- First submitted
- 10 Apr 2026
- Last updated
- 17 Apr 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: Working in a predominantly indigenous community, the research team is actively exploring issues related to data sovereignty that will ultimately shape our plans for sharing individual participant data.
Publications
Ferenchak KS, Garcia BK, Maunakea-Forth JK, Jay CV, Pule I, Enos E, Fukuda KL, Engle A, Cruz CK, Keleb M, Raza-Furtado A, Spahn Naihe A, Aoki A, Ewaliko F, Schnackenberg UON, Akiyama KMCD, Panui AM, Chang KK, Okihiro M. The Kaiona Framework: Centering Hawaiian and Pasifika Community in Defining, Measuring, and Promoting Health and Well-Being. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2026 Mar 22;23(3):402. doi: 10.3390/ijerph23030402.
PubMed 41899779