A Report on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Health and Social Welfare of the Filipino Population in Hawai'i

ABSTRACT

Hawai'i's Filipino community has been deeply impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This article reports the findings for the Filipino population from the Hawai'i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) Community Care Outreach Unit (CCO) Unit evaluation assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the health and social welfare of individuals across the state. The survey was conducted from August-September 2020. We propose recommendations to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on this community, including the following actions (1) developing linguistically and culturally appropriate support for all COVID-19 related services, especially for the high number of older Filipinos with limited English proficiency, (2) providing support and resource information in locations that are accessible to Filipino communities, and (3) supporting those already doing work to address the deep and diverse needs in the Filipino community with funding. Building partnerships between existing Filipino organizations, health and social service providers, and state agencies will contribute to sustainability over time.