Native Hawaiian adults face mobility challenges earlier in life

Native Hawaiian adults experience mobility limitations — including challenges with agility, gait, balance and fall risk — at significantly higher rates and at younger ages than other major racial and ethnic groups in Hawaiʻi.

That’s according to new research from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders. The study was published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Preventing Chronic Disease.

Researchers analyzed mobility and functional limitations among adults 55 years old and older using data from Hawaiʻi Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected between 2019 and 2021.

The study was led by Hā Kūpuna associate director and Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health assistant professor Miquela Ibrao. It found that 28% of Native Hawaiian adults ages 55 and older reported mobility limitations.

In contrast, rates for white, Filipino and Japanese adults ranged from 17% to 19%.

These disparities were evident even among those age 55 to 64 years old, suggesting mobility challenges begin for Native Hawaiians earlier than typically expected.

“This study points to the need to assess mobility changes earlier than age 65,” said Ibrao in a release about the study’s findings. “Staying mobile is critical to living independently and maintaining social connections.”

The research team, which included Hā Kūpuna researchers Yan Yan Wu and Kathryn Braun, investigated how social determinants of health — such as income, education, health insurance access and neighborhood walkability — influence mobility.

For Native Hawaiian and white adults, higher income was linked to lower rates of mobility limitations, underscoring the critical role economic factors play in healthy aging.

“We need more culturally grounded, community-based programs for Native Hawaiian adults,” added Ibrao. “These initiatives are essential to address social determinants of health and help kūpuna age with dignity, connection and independence in the communities they call home.”

Hā Kūpuna researchers hope the findings inform policies and programs aimed at reducing health disparities and improving quality of life for older Native Hawaiian adults throughout the state.