Annual Report to the Mayor - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

To specify the search, exact names of disabili?es and chronic illnesses were entered targe?ng health professionals and social support: “Dr.’s who diagnosis and treat endometriosis on the Big Island”; “Dr.’s who diagnosis and treat PMDD on the Big Island”; “Dr.’s who diagnosis and treat Pregnancy related illness on the Big Island”; “Dr.’s who diagnosis and treat menopause on the Big Island”; “Dr.’s who diagnosis and treat PCOS on the Big Island”; “Support groups for endometriosis on the Big Island”; “Support groups for PMDD on the Big Island”; “Support groups for Pregnancy related illness on the Big Island”, “Support groups for menopause on the Big Island”, “Support groups for PCOS on the Big Island”. In an a?empt to consolidate ﬁndings and avoid detailing repe??ous results, only two speciﬁc searches will be discussed in detail. In a Big Island Now ar?cle, dated March 20, 2019, the month of March was declared Endometriosis Awareness Month by Hawai’i Gov. David Ige and Hawai’i Mayor Harry Kim. With approximately 9,000 females living on Hawai’I island with endometriosis, and an es?mate 70,000 females statewide, one would assume ﬁnding a provider or support group through a google search would yield immediate results and provide resources accessible on both the east and west sides of Hawai’i Island. However, the resource search revealed quite the opposite. When the key phrase, “Support groups for endometriosis on the Big Island” was entered, only one link to a support group resulted on the ﬁrst page. While a support group existed, the link was a private link to a Facebook page/facebook online support group which is only accessible to those individuals with a facebook account. Furthermore, when the facebook group was found through entering the Facebook social media pla?orm, the group only had seven members out of the approximate 9,000 individuals living on the Big Island with endometriosis. Obvious ques?ons concerning marke?ng, the accessibility of social media, health and medical provider involvement in ﬁnding or crea?ng community-based support systems, and pa?ent mental health status and perceived support naturally arise. Since the Waimea Women’s Health Center in Kamuela moved under the jurisdic?on of the Queen’s Health System, internet searches for “Waimea Women’s Center” (as it was formerly known as) results in a Women’s Center at Queen’s North Hawai’i Community Hospital webpage and they are the only group prac?ce which lists one female-speciﬁc service provided based on the actual diagnosis or condi?on (which could last years and might result in a pa?ent seeking accommoda?ons based on disability) -“menopause management”; however, the website fails to disclose whether maternal mental health, speciﬁcally perinatal and postpartum psychosis, for example, is covered under what was listed -“maternal care” . Addi?onally le? unspeciﬁed was another bullet point service - “menstrual disorder diagnosis” and it is unclear whether that includes PMDD or the management of such diagnosis. Iden?fying words such as “disability” and “chronic illness” are not used and thus not part of any search algorithms. This report takes a look at the current availability of resources based on visibility via an internet inquiry. In order to be knowledgeable about the currently available resources, one has to ﬁrst be able to complete an internet search and be knowledgeable about how to interpret the informa?on and/or various sites linked to one speciﬁc provider. Barriers to internet accessibility include geographic loca?on, ﬁnancing, and physical, emo?onal, and cogni?ve symptoms of health 10