Journal of Nursing & Care

Nafanua Braginsky

Biography

 Dr. Braginsky was born in Apia, Samoa and moved to Hawaii with her family in the early 1980s. She was a student in the 'IKE AO PONO program (for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islands) throughout her nursing education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and became the first Samoan registered nurse to earn a PhD degree in nursing from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Braginsky's dissertation topic was "Psychosocial and cultural values related to diet and exercise of Asians and Pacific Islanders with Type 2 diabetes in Hawaii". Her research is focused on the area of diabetes in Asian and Pacific Islander populations. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Nursing and the Pacific Islands VA Nursing Academy. Dr. Braginsky's passion is caring for patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in the community. She keeps current in the practice setting as a Nurse Practitioner at Kalihi-Palama Health Center where she works with patients from different ethnic backgrounds including Pacific Islanders and Micronesians, and as a medical-surgical nurse at The Queen's Medical Center. Dr. Braginsky's commitment to maintaining her practice skills at the bedside enables her to provide a richer clinical experience for students.

Research Interest

 Adult Health Nursing II Lab, Advanced Practice Nursing Role, and Advanced Practice Clinical, Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in Asians and Pacific Islanders populations