Abstract Example 2 Tiffany Rivera
Heart Disease Cardiac Resource Availability by the Counties in the State of Hawai`i
Tiffany S. Rivera1 and Johnny Tudela Aldan1
1 School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu
The State of Hawaii is impacted by high mortality rates related to heart disease across multiple
counties. This research is an exploratory study using publicly available secondary data to
investigate the State of Hawaii’s counties (1) mortality rate of heart disease, (2) availability of
cardiac health services, and (3) financial implications of the cardiac services. The methods used
were bar charts, heatmap, and geographic information system mapping. This study found
people with Heart Failure (HF) and/or Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) experienced the highest
mortality rate, with an average of HF=66.4 and CHD=62.2 per ~100,000 individuals. Hawaii
county has a relatively smaller population, but experiences higher cases of HF and CHD.
Amongst the cardiac operations in the State of Hawaii, the average cost of services ranged
between $48,000 to $118,000. Preventative testing services (≤ $3500) are cheaper alternatives
versus cardiac operations. Statewide, a total of 13 health centers offers cardiac operations and
are expected to serve a population of 1.4 million people in Hawaii. Individuals residing in rural
Hawaii counties shoulder the cost for Emergency Service Fees, which include Basic Life
Service with no Advanced Life Services (ALS) rendered costing $375 and ALS emergency with
aeromedical helicopter transport costing $2,250. A supply of approximately 80 cardiology
physicians is available to serve the state. However, the demand needed exceeds over 120. This
investigation highlights the high mortality rates of HF and CHD, low access to health care and
available resources, and high cost of services that are present across communities.
Acknowledgment: Rylan Chong, Laura Tipton, and Kahoali’i Keahi, School of Natural
Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu; Funded by NSF INCLUDES
(award number 1744526) and NSF LSAMP (award number 1826864).
