This special issue is published to recognize the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress (PRIDoC) 2018 hosted by ‘Ahahui o nā Kauka, the Association of Native Hawaiian Physicians, in Hilo, HI July 2018. This bi-annual conference brought indigenous physicians, healthcare providers, medical educators, and healthcare organizations together from the continental United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan, and the Pacific Basin to experience an exchange of knowledge designed with the intention of leading indigenous populations back to the thriving health models they once embodied.
Inspired by the ‘olelo no ‘eau (Hawaiian proverb), ‘A ‘ohe hua o ka mai ‘a i ka lā ho ‘okaāhi, many no task is too big when done together, the PRIDoC Committee organizers worked steadily with volunteers, students, community physicians, cultural experts, and community partners for two years to deliver a masterfully designed program. Striving to achieve health equity, presenters shared clinical interventions, policy initiatives, innovations in medical education, and local and global strategies addressing health inequity and climate change. Ideas stimulated discussions on how our communities can work together to improve indigenous healthcare, medical student education, indigenous faculty and student development, health workforce, and cultural training programs.
The conference attendees, presentations, and messages of malama ‘āina/malama honua (care for the land/care for the earth) were wrapped, like ho ‘okupu (ceremonial offering), in cultural protocol, hula, oli, ceremony, and celebration.The theme, “‘Oi Ola Wai Honua,” ( life is better while the earth has water), gifted to the coordinators from the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation, truly brought meaning that resonated throughout all of the week's activities.
As a contributing sponsor of PRIDoC 2018 and the preconference Indigenous Faculty Forum, the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence (NHCOE) invited all of the conference participants who delivered presentations on the development of physician/health care workforce, student research, cultural competency training curriculum, and indigenous faculty to submit an original article based on their conference abstracts. Twenty-two (22) academic faculty, 11 medical, social work, or public health students, and 3 community health care providers responded by submitting their works to be published in this peer-reviewed issue.
Made possible through multiple international, national, and community partnerships, the editors of this journal wish to express their deepest appreciation for all of the donations of time, coordination and funding that have have supported PRIDoC 2018. A special acknowledgement is extended to Breanna Morrison PhD, and to the PRIDoC 2018 conference coordinators, Dee-Ann Carpenter MD, and Martina Kamaka MD, for their invaluable assistance in editing this issue.
This project received support from the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence award, D3HP16044, from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Health Professions, US Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the BHPr, HRSA, DHHS or the US Government.
Conflict of Interest
This author reports no conflict of interest.