Welcome to Kōkua Mau’s Reports Page.

Over the years Kōkua Mau has collaborated with other agencies and organizations. The reports generated through these collaborations are listed here.

Two years of Analysis of an innovative and unique ambassador program

Kōkua Mau’s Let’s Talk Story Program: Year 2 (2018)

Phenomenal Increase in Outreach – Analysis of an innovative and unique ambassador program

Overview—Community outreach continues to grow

In the second year of employing an Advance Care Planning Coordinator, there has been a phenomenal increase in outreach to the community and professionals with our Let’s Talk Story Program.

In 2018, the increase in interest throughout the community in places where people “live, work, and pray” suggests that people in the community are recognizing the importance of meaningful conversations and Advance Health Care Directives.

Increased Requests for Community Presentations

• In 2017 an unprecedented number of presentations were done in the community; 28 groups requested presentations, and 44 presentations reached upwards of 656 people.
• In 2018, interest continues to grow, as 38 groups requested presentations and 52 presentations reached upwards of 827 people.

Overview – Professional Development doubles in training requests

The increase of requests for Professional Development reflects the changes in measures that professionals are now expected to meet, and the desire for organizations to do Advance Care Planning (ACP) well for their clients or members.

Increased Requests for Professional Development

• In 2017, 17 groups requested trainings, and 18 training sessions reached 446 health care professionals.
• In 2018, requests for Professional Development training nearly doubled, as 28 organizations requested training sessions and 36 training sessions reached upwards of 953 professionals.

Read more or download the PDF file of the full report (coming soon)

Kōkua Mau’s Let’s Talk Story Program a 2017 review

The Challenge:

(Feb. 2018) Many are not comfortable initiating conversations about care for loved ones or themselves should there be a diagnosis with a serious illness. As a result, those important conversations are avoided with no clear resolution. It usually takes a health crisis to bring these issues to the forefront, but this creates tremendous undue stress on families. At a time when the focus should be on providing the best quality of life for those with a serious illness, attention is often diverted to resolving personal differences that can often splinter families.

Kōkua Mau’s Let’s Talk Story Program was originally launched as a Speakers Bureau and has evolved into a more substantive ambassador program designed to break down those barriers. Read more and download the PDF of our comprehensive Analysis of our Let’s Talk Story Program Activities.

Research Completed: Hawaii Resident Perceptions of Advance Care Planning

We contracted with Ward Research to conduct telephone surveys and focus groups of Hawaii residents to learn about their attitudes towards conversations with doctors, families and completion of advance care documents. This research was made possible with a grant from the Stupski Family Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation.

The results are very interesting, showing people in Hawaii are having conversations but there is a long way to go.

Research shows people are not having conversations because:

• They think they are healthy (so it is too soon)
• their family will know what they want (even though they never told them)
• and they trust their healthcare teams to make decisions (even though they never told them their wishes)

We will be using these results to design our outreach programs. We hope this research will be useful for others as well.

Read more and the PDF files of the research report

Palliative Care: An Underutilized Resource in Cancer Survivorship and Improving Quality of Life for People with Cancer.