Biography

Dr. Francisco-Natanauan is a board-certified Adolescent Medicine physician with 19 years of clinical and academic experience, currently serving as Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine.

Dr. Francisco-Natanauan is recognized statewide for advancing equity-focused protocols, research, and training programs to improve the healthcare of marginalized youth, with emphasis on nutrition, reproductive health, and school-based services.

She is also an identified speaker locally, nationally, and globally for adolescent health topics ranging from eating disorders, gender care, and comprehensive sexuality education.

Moreover, she has led hospital-wide implementation of a Nutritional Insufficiency Protocol for youth with eating disorders and launched opt-out STI screening in Hawai‘i’s juvenile justice facilities, contributing to the CDC’s 2021 STI Treatment Guidelines.

Dr. Francisco-Natanauan established cross-disciplinary clinical and research rotations for local, national and international medical trainees in Adolescent Medicine, Adolescent Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Family Medicine and OB-GYN. Committed to training culturally responsive providers and advancing community-engaged care.

Research Interests

• STI in high-risk adolescents

• Eating disorders in non-Caucasian population

• Comprehensive sexuality education in schools

Projects

• Principal Investigator of the Hawai’i Community CSE Project, a school-based initiative teaching elementary, middle, and high school students on puberty and reproductive health

• Lead Site Investigator for Hawai‘i G-ECHO, a Stanford Medicine initiative expanding access to pediatric gender-affirming care across the state; as the local Principal Investigator for Hawai'i Pacific Health’s NIH-funded multi-site study on obesity.

Publications

• Francisco-Natanauan P, Yokoyama J, Tokeshi C. (2025). “Epidemiology of Eating Disorders in Male Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults in Hawai’i.” Journal of Adolescent Health. Volume 76, Issue 3, Supplement, S20 - S21, March 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.11.054

• Aye T, Zhong Y, Ching R, Pham T, Regidor I, Shim M, Francisco-Natanauan P, Hopkins B, Brady C, Long J. (2024) “A Survey of Primary Care Providers and Community Organizations Caring for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in Hawai’i:

  Their Characteristics and Barriers in Care.” Hormone Research in Paediatrics. Vol. 97, pp. 251-252, September 2024.

• Francisco-Natanauan P, Kiyohara A, Ramos, AK, Rolita, L. (2024). “Findings of a Physician-Led Comprehensive Sexuality Ed Curriculum in a Hawai’i High School.” Journal of Adolescent Health. Volume 74, Issue 3, Supplement, S38-S39, March 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.11.269