Elderly Fall Prevention

The Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, Epidemiology Center (RMTEC) has been working with the IHS Billings Area Office to implement an evidence-based program entitled A Matter of Balance, as a part of Elderly Fall Prevention.

 

A Matter of Balance program includes both an education and exercise component and is designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase the activity levels of older adults who have concerns about falls.

 

In November 2018, an employee from each office attended a training to become A Matter of Balance Master Trainers. As Master Trainers, their role is to train volunteer coaches in the Tribal communities, who will then go on to facilitate A Matter of Balance classes in their communities.

Recently, the Master Trainers held their first coach training, and six volunteers became certified as A Matter of Balance Coaches. These coaches plan to start their classes in late spring or early summer. The Master Trainers are excited to train more volunteers in the other Tribal communities and plan to have A Matter of Balance Coaches trained in each site by the end of summer 2019.

Kaylee Vandjelovic, Public Health Specialist at RMTEC and one of the Master Trainers, discussing A Matter of Balance program during the coach training.

The six new volunteer coaches with the Master Trainers, after completing the two-day training and earning their certificates.

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Over 95% of respondents from NWTEC’s survey indicated that they were enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe, with 60% of these respondents being enrolled members of an Oregon tribe. Respondents also represented a degree of geographic variance, as over half of Oregon’s counties were represented. Although health priorities could shift slightly when analyzing results by demographic characteristics, the top priorities remained relatively stable across the board. These top priorities selected were:

1. Safe, affordable housing
2. Access to mental health care
3. Substance use
4. Adverse childhood/life experiences (ACE/ALEs), trauma, and toxic stress
5. Living wage
6. Obesity
7. Suicide

These priorities of AI/AN residents closely match the five priorities that were selected by OHA’s steering committee, which includes:

1. Behavioral health (substance use, suicide, and access to mental health care)
2. Economic drivers of health (food insecurity, housing, transportation, living wage)
3. Adversity, trauma, and toxic stress (ACE/ALEs)
4. Equitable access to care
5. Institutional bias across private and public entities

Since AI/AN people were underrepresented in the community input that OHA used to write the current health plan (2015-2019 SHIP), targeted outreach by NWTEC and community participation helped insure that Native voices were clearly heard during the planning process.

If you have any questions or would like more information about NWTEC or Oregon’s SHIP process, please contact Taylor Ellis at tellis@npaihb.org.

 

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In May 2018, the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC) launched the Tribal Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) – a new tribal public health surveillance system designed to learn more about the experiences, attitudes and behaviors of new American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) mothers before, during, and after their pregnancy. Key topics on the survey include prenatal and preconception care, breastfeeding, substance use, stress and stressors, health insurance coverage, and infant health care and safety.

 

Tribal PRAMS is a collaboration between AASTEC, the Navajo Tribal Epidemiology Center, and the New Mexico Department of Health.

 

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Analysis of data in 71 U.S. cities points to much larger problem, inaccurate data

In November 2018, Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), a division of Seattle Indian Health Board, released the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) report. This snapshot of data from 71 U.S. cities identified 506 cases of MMIWG and detailed significant challenges in collecting data on the total number of missing or murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives residing in off-reservation areas and outside rural villages. UIHI intends to provide the report as a resource for urban Indian organizations, tribal governments, and legislators.

 

“This report provides a necessary snapshot of the epidemic and is a call-to-action to protect Native women and girls.”

 

– Abigail Echo-Hawk, Director of UIHI and co-author of the report.

 

View/Download Report (PDF)

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2018 Area Impact Award Winner

The United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Tribal Epidemiology Center received a National Indian Health Board “Area Impact Award” for the support and technical assistance that it provides to USET Member Tribal Nations.

 

“Honors an individual or organization whose work has contributed to improving American Indian/Alaska Native health care or affected change on an area or regional basis.”

 

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