Engaging Health Insurers to Build Equity-Driven Support for Breast/Chestfeeding in Hawai'i

This presentation will focus on elevating community voices from Hawaiʻi that are reflective of diverse stakeholders across the islands. Longstanding disparities in access to adequate support for breast/chestfeeding have disproportionately impacted Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, rural, and other historically marginalized communities. This presentation will highlight learning and stories from communities that have had limited access to clinical and community-based breastfeeding support. In addition, we will recognize efforts to build community power to successfully engage with insurers, medicaid representatives, and health policymakers in transformative dialogue to establish equitable coverage for lactation/first foods support benefits.
The session will include an exploration of methods, findings, and emerging community-driven approaches to providing holistic support for infant feeding to diverse and historically disregarded communities in a remote island region. We will explore resources from toolbox of options for elevating community voice and building connections with powerful institutions in the healthcare system.