BACKGROUND Community participation was a key component of a cancer control research project in a Native Hawaiian community. This project tested the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention as a means of increasing breast and cervical cancer screening practices among Native Hawaiian women on the Wai'anae Coast of the island of O'ahu. METHODS The Wai'anae Cancer Research project was community driven, with Native Hawaiian community representatives involved in all phases of the project, from grant proposal development to data interpretation. A community health center administered the grant award from the National Cancer Institute. The policy‐making steering committee included community representatives, health professionals, and researchers to balance community and scientific quality standards. A factor in the project's success was continuous involvement over 7 years by a core of community representatives and professional staff. RESULTS More than 500 women participated in the intervention, and outcome measures indicated that there was a community wide impact on cancer‐related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Important contributions of the project also included direct economic benefits, improvements in health services and systems, increased research capabilities, and dissemination of findings to other communities and researchers. CONCLUSION Community participation in all phases of the research was essential in generating community acceptance and resulted in an innovative and effective intervention. This participatory research project has left the community richer in knowledge, skills, experience, confidence, and resources. These qualities provide a strong foundation for building future programs and research. Cancer 1996;78:1582‐6.

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Findings reinforce the fact that a physician's recommendation and receipt of information about the vaccine are strong motivators for parents to vaccinate their children, regardless of ethnicity.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can prevent cervical and other cancers. Unfortunately, according to the National Immunization Survey–Teen 2014 data, completion of the HPV vaccine was only 38% for 13 to 17-year-old girls and 31% for 13 to 17-year-old boys in the US, and prevalence was similar in Hawai‘i. Parents’ acceptability of the HPV vaccine is critical for the vaccine uptake, and this can be increased by educational materials and interventions. However, HPV materials are not widely distributed in Hawai‘i. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify HPV vaccination barriers, motivators, and brochure preferences among parents of teens in multicultural Hawai‘i. Twenty parents were interviewed in person or by telephone. Four major themes emerged: (1) the physician is critical in the decision to vaccinate; (2) parental perception of the child’s sexual activity guides the timing of their willingness to vaccinate; (3) HPV health education materials should be provided and discussed by the physician; and (4) Parents would prefer an educational brochure that features local faces and testimonials, includes an immunization chart, and addresses barriers to vaccination. These findings informed the development of HPV health education materials tailored to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i.