{"id":164054,"date":"2022-08-24T11:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T21:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=164054"},"modified":"2022-08-24T11:00:37","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T21:00:37","slug":"e-cig-rural-hawaiian-youth-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/08\/24\/e-cig-rural-hawaiian-youth-study\/","title":{"rendered":"$2.8M to develop e-cigarette intervention for rural Hawaiian youth"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"scott
Scott Okamoto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicates that 18% of all middle school youth in the state of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> currently use an electronic vapor product, ranking first nationally among 14 states collecting data on middle school youth. Of these youth, 30% are of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander ancestry, representing the highest percentage of e-cigarette users among major ethnic groups in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. <\/p>\n

A $2.8-million grant to develop and evaluate a school-based, culturally-grounded e-cigarette prevention intervention for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s rural youth has been awarded to University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Center<\/a> researcher, Scott Okamoto<\/strong>. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse<\/a>, this project builds on Hoʻouna<\/span> Pono, a drug prevention curriculum designed for rural Hawaiian adolescents. <\/p>\n

The e-cigarette intervention plan will update the existing Hoʻouna<\/span> Pono curriculum and introduce new e-cigarette and vaping prevention content, including a social and print media campaign across middle\/intermediate and multi-level public and public-charter schools on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island. More than 500 students are anticipated to enroll in this study over five years. <\/p>\n

Okamoto said, “To our knowledge, this is the first study to develop and test an e-cigarette prevention intervention tailored to rural Hawaiian youth. Our proposed intervention will educate youth on the risks of e-cigarette use, while also reflecting the cultural and relational values of rural Hawaiian youth and communities.”<\/p>\n

E-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults has been associated with adverse respiratory symptoms, including symptoms of asthma and bronchitis. E-cigarette consumption also increases the risk for using combustible cigarettes, which is directly linked with lung cancer. Research has also found that COVID-19 diagnosis was five times more likely among ever-users of e-cigarettes.<\/p>\n

Preventing the use of electronic vapor products through a solid intervention plan will not only help decrease severe respiratory disorders, but prevent the possible use of combustible cigarettes among Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> rural youth.<\/p>\n