Migration With Dignity: Experiences of Pacific Islanders in Oregon

As of March 2022, the Oregon Health Authority reported a hospitalization rate of 8.6% among total cases for Pacific Islanders — the highest among all groups — and a fatality rate of 1.1%. Other states show similarly high numbers. In California, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have the highest case and death rates among all races and ethnicities. In Hawai’i, Pacific Islanders, who represent 4% of the state’s population, account for 8% of cases and 17% of deaths — by far the greatest imbalance among population groups. This tragic imbalance is explored in an April 2022 special issue of the Journal of Disaster Research, authored by Scott Drinkall and Kapiolani Micky (Community Health Worker) and Jackie Leung (Executive Director) of the nonprofit Micronesian Islander Community in Salem, Oregon. Since 2018, ELI and MIC have partnered to better understand the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of Micronesians living in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, one of the largest Micronesian communities in the United States. <a href="https://medium.com/@drinkall/migration-with-dignity-experiences-of-pacific-islanders-in-oregon-f6a37cb89adb">Click Here</a>