The Ku Ola Project: Enhancing Health Promotion Among Native Hawaiian Men.

The Ku Ola Project

The Ku Ola Project: The goal of this study is to determine if community-based discussion groups and small educational sessions enhance health awareness and behaviors among Native Hawaiian men. The study will examine if these interventions improve participants' health knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy while fostering local networks to support ongoing health promotion. Participants will engage in group discussions and educational sessions designed to build capacity and encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Health Promotion; Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Kūkākūkā Discussion Sessions

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 600
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Kevin Cassel, DrPH, MPH; Phone Number: 808-564-5916; Email: Kevin@cc.hawaii.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Yoko Takahashi, MD; Email: ytakahashi@cc.hawaii.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Hawaii
    • Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, 96813
      • University of Hawai'i Cancer Center
      • Contact: Kevin Cassel, DrPH, MPH; Phone Number: 808-564-5916; Email: Kevin@cc.hawaii.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

• Inclusion Criteria Self-identified as male At least 18 years of age Hawaii residency Able to read and understand English
• Exclusion Criteria Under 18 years of age Not proficient in English Any medical condition or situation that, in the investigator's judgment, would make continued participation not in the participant's best interest

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Educational & Behavioral Intervention; Participants take part in Kū Ola kūkākūkā (discussion group) modules-each a 2-hour session integrating a health topic (e.g., colorectal, lung, oro/nasopharyngeal cancer) with Hawaiian cultural content-complete pre- and post-test surveys, draft a commitment contract, and, where applicable, undergo cancer screening and receive follow-up support.

Behavioral: Kūkākūkā Discussion Sessions; Participants attend a single 2-hour, flip-chart-guided module that integrates a focused health topic (e.g., colorectal cancer screening) with Hawaiian cultural teachings-beginning with an 'ōlelo no'eau (proverb) and guided by trained facilitators-to foster peer discussion, deliver key health information, and assess knowledge via pre- and post-test surveys.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Surveys	Participants complete pretest and post-test surveys gathering demographic data and module-specific health information and knowledge to evaluate program effectiveness.	Pretest immediately before each module and post-test immediately after completion (within the same day).
Commitment Contract	After completing the post-test survey, participants draft a commitment contract proposing a specific health behavior change and leave their contact information so Kū Ola staff can follow up six months later to offer support and collect outcome data.	From immediately after the post-test survey to the six-month follow-up call.
Evaluation:	After each session, participants complete short-answer and multiple-choice evaluation questions assessing how well the session fostered health-related communication and their perceived learning.	Immediately following each session.
Screening	The proportion of eligible participants who complete their committed cancer screening test (e.g., FIT or PSA) as recorded by the PI and communicated to primary care physicians.	Within six months of the commitment contract.
Discussion	One-sentence description: Thematic analysis of anonymized audio-recorded group discussions and facilitator notes from each module, capturing key insights and participant engagement.	At the end of each module session (each session is 2 hours long)
Tracking Groups and Facilitators	Aggregate counts of men reached, number of modules delivered, and number of facilitators trained, tracked continuously in the Kū Ola database.	From the date the first participant completes their initial module session through six months after the last participant completes their post-test survey (estimated up to 12 months).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Hawaii
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kevin Cassel, DrPH, MPH, University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Moy KL, Sallis JF, David KJ. Health indicators of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in the United States. J Community Health. 2010 Feb;35(1):81-92. doi: 10.1007/s10900-009-9194-0.
• Jain B, Bajaj SS, Patel TA, Vapiwala N, Lam MB, Mahal BA, Muralidhar V, Amen TB, Nguyen PL, Sanford NN, Dee EC. Colon Cancer Disparities in Stage at Presentation and Time to Surgery for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: A Study with Disaggregated Ethnic Groups. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Sep;30(9):5495-5505. doi: 10.1245/s10434-023-13339-0. Epub 2023 Apr 5.
• Hughes CK. Factors associated with health-seeking behaviors of Native Hawaiian men. Pac Health Dialog. 2004 Sep;11(2):176-82.
• Harmon BE, Little MA, Woekel ED, Ettienne R, Long CR, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Henderson BE, Kolonel LN, Maskarinec G. Ethnic differences and predictors of colonoscopy, prostate-specific antigen, and mammography screening participation in the multiethnic cohort. Cancer Epidemiol. 2014 Apr;38(2):162-7. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2014.02.007. Epub 2014 Mar 22.
• Cassel KD, Hughes C, Higuchi P, Lee P, Fagan P, Lono J, Ho R, Wong N, Brady SK, Ahuna W. No Ke Ola Pono o Na Kane: A Culturally Grounded Approach to Promote Health Improvement in Native Hawaiian Men. Am J Mens Health. 2020 Jan-Feb;14(1):1557988319893886. doi: 10.1177/1557988319893886.
• Braun KL, Kim BJ, Ka'opua LS, Mokuau N, Browne CV. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Elders: What Gerontologists Should Know. Gerontologist. 2015 Dec;55(6):912-9. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnu072. Epub 2014 Jul 25.

Helpful Links

• Assessment and Priorities for Health & Well-Being in Native Hawaiians & other Pacific Peoples.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): May 9, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 31, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 29, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: CASSEL-2024-2; U0610X (Other Grant/Funding Number: UNIVERSITY HAWAII FOUNDATION)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No