What Is Known about Substance Use in Hawai'i: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Substance Use Research
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Substance use presents a significant public health challenge in Hawai'i.
• Existing literature and data on substance use in Hawai'i are fragmented.
• Understanding affected populations and geographic areas is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of available literature on substance use in Hawai'i.
• To assess the extent and nature of research on substance use within the state.
• To identify gaps in current knowledge for future research directions.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist.
• Searches of PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases (2010-2023) supplemented by manual searches.
• Synthesis of 21 included documents to analyze findings on substance use patterns.

Main Results:

• A significant focus on substance use among Native Hawaiians and adolescents was identified.
• Geographical data was primarily at the island level, with alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamine as the most reported substances.
• Data encompassed diverse racial and ethnic groups, though often relied on national datasets.

Conclusions:

• Future research should address rising substance use in older adults and disaggregate data for Pacific Islander populations.
• There is a need for more granular geographical data and increased data collection on underserved and high-risk groups.
• Enhanced data collection on fentanyl use in Hawai'i is critical.