Blue Zones Project Results: Hawaii

While national well-being has been declining since 2016, the well-being of Blue Zones Project Hawaii communities has remained steady since their baseline year of 2015 or 2017. Blue Zones Project Hawaii communities appear to be rebounding from 2019 to 2020 despite the survey window coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.

IN 4M & WAHIAWA

4M Communities 2017-2019 Value Accrued:

7.2% decrease in risk = $4M in generated value

10-year value projection from 2019:

27.7% decrease in risk = $124M in generated value

Wahiawa 2017-2020 Value Accrued:

10.1% increase in risk = $3.9M in generated value

Wahiawa 10 year value projection from 2019:

30.8% decrease in risk = $78M in generated value

The Blue Zones Project Wahiawa team partnered with other organizations and the County to help leverage $223 thousand in grant funding for policies, programs in Wahiawa. $13.5 million has been allocated toward bicycle and pedestrian projects in the form of the Wahiawa Bridge Project for shared use paths.
The percentage of adults utilizing public transportation or bicycles to actively commute to work increased from 10.2% in 2017 to 12.5% in 2019 (Census).
Twenty percent of Wahiawa residents report that it is easier to walk or bike in their community today compared to five years ago (WBI).
Added 21.6 miles of new bike lanes County-wide
21 businesses donated 3,272 pounds of healthy food during a Give Healthy Food Drive in 2019 which will be an annual event
According to FeedingAmerica.org, the percent of Honolulu County residents who are food insecure declined from 11.8% in 2016 to 10.4% in 2018.

IN WEST HAWAII

The Healthways Simulation Model, developed in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, Harvard, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Boston Consulting Group, is a predictive population health simulation model that can calculate health care-related costs associated with conditions and behaviors, forecast the incidence and progression of these diseases over time, and determine the medical and productivity value of changes in health conditions over time. The accuracy of this model was scientifically and independently tested using data available from the Framingham Heart Study, the longest- running longitudinal epidemiologic public health study of its kind, to ensure validity of the model using real data points. According to this simulation model, West Hawaii has outperformed state of Hawaii well- being trends since its baseline year of 2017, seeing 10.5 percent fewer health risks than expected if the community had followed state trends. This risk avoidance equates to $2.96 million in avoided medical and productivity costs to the community from 2017 to 2019.

Adult smoking: According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), the adult smoking rate on Hawaii Island has declined from 16.2 percent in 2015 to 14.9 percent in 2017. The percentage of adults using e-cigarettes has declined from 6.1 percent in 2015 to 5.1 percent in 2017.
Adult obesity: Decreased island-wide from 25 percent in 2015 to 23.3 percent in 2017, according to BRFSS. In Kona, adult obesity has declined from 57 percent in 2015 to 52 percent in 2017.
Adult depression: Island-wide, the percentage of adults with depression has declined from 15.1 percent in 2015 to 13.4 percent in 2017, according to BRFSS. Adult depression in Kona has also declined, from 13.3 percent in 2015 to 9.5 percent in 2017.
Youth smoking: Island-wide, cigarette use by high school youth has decreased from 11.4 percent in 2015 to 10.1 percent in 2017, according to the Youth Behavioral Risk Survey.

Youth physical activity: The percentage of Hawaii Island middle school youth meeting recommended physical activity guidelines increased from 16.3 percent in 2015 to 17.8 percent in 2017.
Produce consumption: Fruit consumption has increased island- wide and for Kona. Across Hawaii Island, the percentage of adults reporting that they consume more than three servings of fruit daily has increased from 16.2 percent in 2015 to 18.9 percent in 2017. For Kona, the percentage of residents reporting this has increased from 17.7 percent to 20.9 percent from 2015 to 2017.
BZP has partnered with organizations and the County to help bring $1.39 million in grants to Hawai’i Island since the Project’s start in 2015:
Over 14 miles of new bicycle lanes have been added in the County from 2015-2019
50% increase in the number of farmer’s markets accepting SNAP/EBT across the County, from 10 farmers markets in 2015 to 15 in 2019
Successfully advocated for the state’s passage of House Bill 1895 which requires retailers of electronic smoking devices to register with the Attorney General’s office in order to sell and creates a civil offense if the retailer is selling unregistered

IN CENTRAL HAWAII

The Healthways Simulation Model, developed in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, Harvard, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Boston Consulting Group, is a predictive population health simulation model that can calculate health care-related costs associated with conditions and behaviors, forecast the incidence and progression of these diseases over time, and determine the medical and productivity value of changes in health conditions over time. The accuracy of this model was scientifically and independently tested using data available from the Framingham Heart Study, the longest- running longitudinal epidemiologic public health study of its kind, to ensure validity of the model using real data points. According to this simulation model, Central Maui has outperformed state of Hawaii well- being trends since its baseline year of 2017, seeing 4.4 percent fewer health risks than expected if the community had followed state trends. This risk avoidance equates to $1.24 million in avoided medical and productivity costs to the community from 2017 to 2019.

Forty percent of Central Maui residents are aware of Blue Zones Project and 18 percent are engaged with the Project
Central Maui residents who are engaged with the Project are more likely to be thriving in their life evaluation; 80 percent of those engaged are thriving in life evaluation compared to 50 percent of those who are aware but not engaged
Engaged residents have higher purpose well-being with 56 percent thriving in purpose, compared to only 24 percent of non-engaged residents.
Adult smoking rate in Kahului has declined from 14 percent in 2016 to 10 percent in 2017
Adult obesity: BRFSS data shows that the adult obesity rate in Kahului has declined from 60 percent in 2016 to 55 percent in 2017
Over 21 miles of new bicycle lanes have been added in the County from 2015-2019