Engaging Native Hawaiians and Pilipinos in creating supportive and safe violence-free communities for women through a piloted “talkstory” intervention: Implications for program development

•A community-based participatory research study was performed to engage Native Hawaiians and Pilipinos in the development and implementation of a “talkstory” intervention focused on preventing and addressing IPV.•As the intervention has developed, community members planned and performed a variety of community activities to increase awareness of the unacceptability of violence and develop support systems for women in their community.•The synergy between the activities and the “talkstory” designed by community residents who are members of the consortium have enhanced community engagement and begun to create different social norms.•Understanding and respecting cultural differences regarding the activities and the “talkstory” toolkit have been edifying for all members of the consortium. In Hawaii, 20% of women have been victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Although disaggregated data specific to Native Hawaiians or Pilipinos (The official Filipino language recognizes both Filipino (Filipina) and Pilipino (Pilipina) as terms for the citizens of the country. Participants in this study chose to use the terms Pilipino (Pilipina). Retrieved from: www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words) are limited, greater than 70% of women murdered in Hawaii as a result of IPV are Pilipino or native Hawaiian. A consortium was formed to assist Native Hawaiian and Pilipino women addressing abuse and strengthening support from the community. A quasi-experimental community-based participatory research study was designed to assess a community “talkstory” intervention for IPV. “Talkstory” refers to informal gatherings considered to be a laid-back conversation involving a “reciprocal exchange of thoughts, ideas, feelings about self, and other issues” (Affonso et al., 1996. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 25, 738). This article describes the development of an intervention to address IPV in Hawaii and presents the findings obtained from the pilot studies. Results from the pilot study were used to modify the proposed “talkstory” intervention, revise the data collection tools, and provide the program developers with insights into how the community viewed IPV. The most significant change was an increased perception of their awareness, knowledge, and confidence to address IPV following the intervention.