Mapuana Antonio, DrPH
Associate Professor
Specialization Head: Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health
Academic Degrees
- DrPH (Community-Based and Translational Research), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- Certificate in Measurement and Statistics (EDEP), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- MA (Counseling Psychology), Washington State University
- BS (Psychology), Washington State University
Courses Taught
Research Interests
Dr. Mapuana Antonio is a Native Hawaiian Assistant Professor who works and conducts research with Native Hawaiian communities, applying the principles of community-based participatory research. Her research takes a holistic approach to health and has primarily focused on general health and resiliency of Native Hawaiians and determinants of health of Native Hawaiians and Indigenous Peoples. Dr. Mapuana is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Ola HAWAII pilot study Ke ola o ka 'āina. The role of 'āina (land) connectedness in Native Hawaiian health and has served as a co-Investigator for the Papakōlea Hawaiian Homestead Community Health Survey and the Indigenizing the Curriculum: Case Example from the Puni Ke Ola Project. In the past, she has served as a research assistant for 1) PILI (Partnership for Improving Lifestyle Intervention) ‘Ohana Program, an NIH-funded project and a community-based participatory research project that aimed to address obesity and related disparities in Hawai‘i and the larger Pacific, 2) Project PONO (Promoting Optimal Native Outcomes) a community-based participatory project that aimed to better understand maternal stress and coping strategies among women from a rural community in Hawai‘i, and 3) HCCI, a strengths-based and youth led program that aimed to prevent youth suicide and increase early intervention by positively impacting at-risk communities in Hawai‘i. She also has gained international research experience as a scholar in the Māhina International Indigenous Health Research Training.
Selected Publications
Peer-Review Journal Articles
Antonio, M. C., Makua, K. L., Keaulana, S., Keliiholokai, L., Vegas, J. K., & Ho-Lastimosa, H. I. (2021). The study of life and food systems for Native Hawaiians based on their environment. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211038263
Antonio, M. C. K., Hishinuma, E. S., Townsend Ing, C., Hamagami, A., Dillard, A., Kekauoha, B. P., Solatorio, C., Cassel, K., Braun, K., Kaholokula, J. K. (2020). A Resilience Model of Adult Native Hawaiian Health Utilizing a Newly Multi-Dimensional Scale. Behavioral Medicine, ahead-of-print, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2020.1758610
Antonio, M. C. K., Chung-Do, J. J., Goebert, D. A., Bifulco, K., Alvarez, A. R. G. (2020). Evaluating the impacts of a strength-based and youth-driven approach to suicide prevention in rural and minority communities: A qualitative study. Hawaiʻi Journal of Health & Social Welfare, 79(5, Supplement 1), 96-100.
Antonio M. C. K., Keaulana S., Chung-Do J. J., Ho-Lastimosa I. (2020). (Re)constructing Conceptualizations of Health and Resilience among Native Hawaiians. Genealogy, 4(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4010008
non-refereed Journal Articles
Keaulana, S., Antonio, M., Schoch, H., Banna, J. (2019). A Literature Review of the Role of Mindfulness Practices in Nutrition for Mothers and Their Children. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/VV5ZP2WNBD44NV78STVY/full
Book Chapters
Kaholokula, J.K., Hermosura, A.H., Antonio, M.C.K. (2019). Physical Wellbeing of Native Hawaiians, the Indigenous People of Hawai‘i. In Flemin, C., Manning, M., Miller, A. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook Of Indigenous Wellbeing (Chapter 6). London: Routledge.
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/09/02/connection-to-nature-study/
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/09/30/connection-aina-critical-health/
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/05/26/resilience-native-hawaiian-health/