FOCUS
Queer and Transgender Pacific Islanders (QTPI) have historically been in the margins of Pacific Islander communities and have endured the erasure of their identities and experiences. Systemic racism, settler colonialism, heterosexism, homophobia, and transphobia have been institutionalized into health systems, which are intended to promote well-being, but are often culturally mismatched, which widens health disparities through the erasure of identity and health experiences. QTPI have resisted systemic injustice through practices of cultural resurgence and survivance. Santino’s research seeks to examine the health disparities of QTPI and the integration of cultural resurgence and survivance into health promotion for their communities. He uses community-based research grounded in Indigenous CHamoru and Pasifika values and ethics to develop theories, interventions, and policies that promote cultural resurgence and the development of community grounded services for QTPI.
MORE ABOUT SANTINO
Santino’s experiences as a queer and Indigenous CHamoru and as a community-based participatory researcher have driven his passion to enact meaningful change through the development of policies and interventions that promote the health of QTPI and other Pacific Islander communities.
