To provide COVID-19 information and recommendations in Ilocano, Marshallese, Chamorro, ʻōlelo Hawai¡®i and other languages, a group of young public health ambassadors are to help keep Â鶹´«Ã½ healthy during the pandemic. The effort arose from the Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience Team, and is supported by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa , and the Â鶹´«Ã½ State Department of Health.
The TikTok-style video challenge was launched by a collaboration of organizations involved in the state’s COVID-19 response efforts.
Many UH Mānoa public health students and graduates have participated.
“The public health ambassadors bring creative energy to public health messaging around topics such as mask wearing, and flu shots,” said Tetine Sentell, director of the Office of Public Health Studies.
“They are social influencers with important information to share. We believe this is key to leveraging community strengths and trusted relationships within intergenerational households to promote well-being and healthy behaviors during this stressful time,” Sentell added.
Next Gen Â鶹´«Ã½
Next Gen Â鶹´«Ã½ public health ambassadors are teens and young adults who create social media content focused on public health awareness and resources in multiple languages spoken in Â鶹´«Ã½. For the remainder of 2020, Next Gen Â鶹´«Ã½ will host monthly, which will be shared widely.
“The goal of the Next Gen Â鶹´«Ã½ project is to amplify voices of the youth of Â鶹´«Ã½ in their languages to support better health in their communities, especially in Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, and other communities that have been so impacted by COVID-19,” said Momi Tolentino, communications and community relations assistant at Papa Ola Lōkahi, who is helping run the program.
“We want to bolster health, a sense of belonging, and in-language outreach to Â鶹´«Ã½ communities during COVID-19,” Tolentino added.
For more information about Next Gen Â鶹´«Ã½, email hawaiinextgen@gmail.com.