History

CIHR, or the Center for Integrated Health Care Research, was established in 1999. Formerly known as the Center for Health Research, Hawaii (CHRH), CIHR became independent from its research partnership with Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Center for Health Research (CHR), in June 2019.

CIHR's stability is built through internal projects and extensive collaboration with external investigators. Our research program is composed of 50 active projects and 65 clinical trials with projects led by our collaborators accounting for one-third of our portfolio.

CIHR is specially attuned to the health issues of the local population, which suffers disproportionately from several chronic diseases, primarily diabetes and heart disease. Hawaii has one of the most ethnically and geographically diverse populations. Japanese and Caucasians constitute about a quarter of the population, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander populations are ~20%, Filipinos ~12%, Chinese ~8%, and other groups — mostly Southeast Asian and Korean — make up the balance. This mix of cultures, lifestyles, and practices creates a challenging and fascinating environment for research on cultural issues and on the mixing of cultures. Health plan members constitute 18-20% of the state's population and are demographically like the state. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii participates in both Medicaid and Medicare programs with good representation in both groups. Our investigators conduct research on a broad range of topics, including cancer, chronic disease (e.g., diabetes), mental health, substance abuse / addiction, and patient safety.

In 2013, Hawaii Permanente Medical Group (HPMG) and the regional research center began a partnership when Stacey Honda, MD, PhD became the Center’s medical director. The joint goals are to maintain the NIH-funded research portfolio, grow research opportunities with HPMG, and translate research into practice with focus on disparities and total health. HPMG has long been involved in research and hosts the HPMG Research Symposium every two years. The symposium brings together physicians, clinicians, residents, medical students, and the Center’s researchers to highlight projects and case studies.

Mission

To be a leader in translational research to improve individual health and inform health policy through research that creates knowledge required to organize, finance, deliver, and evaluate health care in the public’s interest emphasizing:

• Health Services & Economics
• Health Communication, Decision-Making, Risk Perception, & Use of Technology
• Nutrition and Health Behavior
• Ethnic Diversity
• Epidemiology
• Disease Prevention
• Lifespan Development

To collaborate with leading researchers from diverse disciplines and institutions.

To establish appropriate institutional linkages to carry out this research while maintaining and fostering professional autonomy and strong linkages to our primary laboratory, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.

To publish research results in the public domain and disseminate major findings to the scientific community, to policy makers, and to the health care field.

To support education and training in health research.