Background: Native Hawaiians today face a disproportionately high rate of obesity. The Designing Healthy Worksites (DHW) project investigated existing administrative policies and supports for healthy eating and physical activity at eight Native Hawaiian-serving organizations in Hawai'i, along with employee preferences for worksite wellness programming.
Objectives: We describe the process by which Native Hawaiian researchers and community members worked together to gather formative data to design future worksite wellness programs.
Methods: A Native Hawaiian doctoral student (JHL) and a Native Hawaiian activist (CKH) spearheaded the project, mentored by a Caucasian professor (KLB) who has worked in Hawaii communities for 30 years. Advisors from the worksites supported the use of environmental assessments (n = 36), administrative interviews (n = 33), focus groups (n = 9), and an employee survey (n = 437) to collect data. We used an interactive process of data collection, sharing, and interpretation to assure mutual agreement on conclusions and future directions.
Results: Worksites were at different stages of readiness for worksite wellness programming, suggesting that a toolkit be developed from which agencies could create a program that fit. Activities preferred by large proportions of employees included support groups, experiential nutrition education (e.g., cooking demonstrations and field trips for smart food shopping), food buying clubs, and administrative policies supporting healthy lifestyles. High participation in data collection and interpretation suggest that our methods fostered enthusiasm for worksite wellness programming and for Native Hawaiians as researchers. The team continues to work together to develop and test interventions to promote worksite wellness.
Conclusion: Native-directed research that engages administrators and employees in designing programs heightens program acceptability and applicability.