Eo na Mahu o Hawai'i: the extraordinary health needs of Hawai'i's Mahu

An overview of health and social issues is presented here regarding Native Hawaiian transgenders. Perhaps due to relatively greater tolerance of gender diversity among Polynesian cultures, approximately 70% of all male-to-female transgenders in Hawai'i are Native Hawaiian. However, the overall climate is one of discrimination and harassment such that transgenders--who tend to be under-educated, under-employed, and medically underserved--may be the most severely impacted of all Native Hawaiians. Lei Anuenue, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention program for Native Hawaiians, has provided a variety of services for transgenders, including outreach, educational workshops, support groups, HIV testing, and case management. All services are provided by peer leaders who are employed by the program. Data for this article are based on case management, including client self-disclosures and reports of peer staff who knew details of clients' lives having shared with them both generic experiences and specific activities. Information from 100 transgender clients and their case managers indicated that the transgender health profile is far more serious than that of mainstream Native Hawaiians. For example, 74% smoke, 31% use illegal drugs (excluding marijuana), more than 50% have been involved in street or domestic violence, and few individuals over age 50 have been found during three years of outreach. To some extent, employment options limit transgenders to prostitution, drug dealing, and minimum-wage jobs. In addition, a lifestyle of multiple sex partners and lack of opportunities for stable relationships place transgenders at much greater risk for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STD), and other infectious and non-infectious diseases as compared to the mainstream Native Hawaiian community. Clients in this study were from O'ahu, primarily from downtown Honolulu, Chinatown, and Wai'anae. Future studies should compare the results of this sample to transgenders from the neighbor islands (especially in rural Hawaiian areas), as well as utilize a structured prospective longitudinal approach.