“Descendants of Survivors": Tensions in Translating COVID-19 Vaccine Promotion Videos in Hawai'i

Abstract

Technical communication at the intersection of public health and advocacy engagement requires critical analysis to ensure rhetorical ethics are prioritized over expediency. In this content analysis, I examine video transcripts from a Hawaiʻi-based collaborative encouraging Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders toward safe health practices and COVID-19 vaccination. I also include a reflexive narrative of the research process and challenges of translation as insider/outsider and researcher/translator. This article centers the early iterations of research and reflexivity—particularly how positionality may complicate the pursuit or articulation of research—and provides transparency for scholars launching into translation-based technical communication projects.