TEC News | Tribal Epidemiology Centers

Tribal EpiCenters

09/19/2017

New Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country Progress Report and Project Snapshot

The Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) is excited to release “Setting a Foundation for Innovation: A Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country Progress Report.” This in-depth report summarizes the first two years (2014-2016) of GHWIC grantee community health assessments, highlights of grantee activities and successes, and early efforts with cross-sector workgroups under the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) program.

The UIHI is also pleased to release “Snapshot: Setting a Foundation for Innovation,” a community-oriented brief designed for potential partners and local collaborators interested in the GHWIC project. The snapshot highlights the values, strategies, and scope of the GHWIC program to give potential partners a better understanding of the initiative’s goals and strategies.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) program, a five-year project that funds tribes, tribal-serving health organizations, and Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs) to promote chronic disease prevention amongst American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people. Across Indian County, 23 GHWIC grantees are revitalizing indigenous values to achieve health equity and improve chronic disease prevention through sustainable, culturally-driven interventions rooted in community voice and participation. The activities described in the progress report highlight the importance of allowing a flexible, locally-driven assessment and planning period. By creating collaborative workgroups and allowing the adaptation of health promotion programs to meet local community needs and priorities, GHWIC created a solid foundation for innovative interventions in the years to come to combat health disparities in Indian Country.

Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country Progress Report

For more information about the GHWIC project, please contact Colin Gerber by email or phone at (206) 812-3039.

Tribal EpiCenters

09/01/2017

UIHI’s Ace Summer Public Health Interns

TEC News

The summer of 2017 brought a set of super star interns to the Urban Indian Health Institute. This is a short introduction to our intern trio but you can read the full bios of each of these amazing women on our website. Alexa Fay, Katherine Ly, and Alyssa Longee made it possible for the UIHI to analyze more data and develop new materials and media for American Indian and Alaska Native communities than expected this summer. Thank you, thank you!

Alexa Fay is a student at Washington State University majoring in Nursing – after graduation, she plans to work as a community health nurse, with an emphasis on serving immigrants and other minority groups. Her main project at the UIHI has focused on Communities of Practice (CoP), and investigating how they can be used for American Indian and Alaska Native communities as well as in public health. Through the project, she has created a literature review summarizing Communities of Practice and their presence in different types of communities, and a toolkit outlining important steps to assist organizations in establishing and maintaining culturally-sensitive CoP.

Katherine Ly is pursuing a Masters of Public Health at the University of Washington in Environmental and Occupational Health and a Global Women, Adolescents, and Children certificate. She received her Bachelor’s in Neuroscience & Behavior and Science in Society from Wesleyan University. She is interested in the interface between science and population health and is a motivated by her family and neighbors to explore cross cultural care in addressing health disparities. Her summer practicum project focuses on food deserts and food sovereignty movements in Washington State. She is completing a literature review on the history and emergence of food deserts and food sovereignty and their implications for food security and health in AI/AN communities. A Story Map of successful food sovereignty movements and food desert maps in Washington will be created based on the info she gathered. She is also helping to update Community Heath Profiles.

Alyssa Longee is a member of the Sisseton Sioux division of the Fort Peck Reservation and a senior at the Washington State University College of Bachelor of Nursing program. She is driven towards pursuing her doctorate degree following graduation and working as a Nurse Practitioner. Her experience at the UIHI allowed her to explore ways that she might contribute to the improvement of health care and reducing the prevalence of health disparities among the AI/AN population. She worked with UIHI staff and leadership on a variety of projects including construction of the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) ArcGIS interactive Storymap. Alyssa reviews evaluation reports, success stories, projects and data collected from GHWIC grantees and composes summaries along with multimedia products such as videos, photos, website links, brochures and other materials to showcase the many success stories. She has also been reviewing literature on social networks methods to identify ways to make visible the role of building key partnerships in GHWIC health promotion efforts.

Read their full bios on the UIHI website.
Email or call us at (206) 812-3030 if you are interested in interning at the UIHI!

Tribal EpiCenters

08/29/2017

UIHI Project Assistant Job Opportunity

Press Release, TEC News

Join the Urban Indian Health Institute Team!

UIHI is proud to announce the opening of a new Project Assistant position. The Project Assistant is responsible for overall program and office activities in the Urban Indian Health Institute, a Division of the Seattle Indian Health Board, by providing general office and program support: secretarial, clerical, outreach and administrative duties.

See the Seattle Indian Health Board’s careers webpage for the complete job description and to apply online!

Tribal EpiCenters

08/17/2017

News from the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center

TEC Event, TEC News

Native Fitness XIV 2017

This year marks the 14th year for the Western Tribal Diabetes Project coordinating the Native Fitness Event. The Event is hosted at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton Oregon, and continues to be a huge success. On August 30 and 31st, 2017, participants from tribal SDPI programs across the country will converge on the Tiger Woods Center to participate in this interactive event.

The event features 20 breakout sessions: chair circuit for elders, living lean, sports speed system, mixed martial arts, fitness for kids, group fitness, natural running, power hour, and a nutrition and healthy cooking demonstration class.

Other topics on the agenda include presentations on Motivation interviewing and historical trauma in Native communities, an update from the N7 Nike program, and the Western Tribal Diabetes project data/tracking and audit issues. Most important however, is the opportunity for programs across the country to network and share successes and challenges in our SDPI programs. The evaluations from Native Fitness last year were excellent, and we are looking forward to our 2017 event.

Native Fitness XIV Agenda
2017 Registration Form

Tribal EpiCenters

08/15/2017

AASTEC Hosts Remembering When

TEC News

A Train-the-Trainer Program for Fire and Fall Prevention among Older Adults

At the end of July, the AASTEC Tribal Injury Prevention Program hosted a train-the-trainer event for 52 tribal health program participants from 17 Area Tribes focused on evidence-based best practices for fire and fall prevention among older adults.

The workshop was based on the National Fire Protection Association’s “Remembering When” curriculum, which aims to build participant capacity to develop and implement comprehensive community-based fire and fall prevention programs for older adults.

Remembering When is centered around 16 key safety messages – eight fire prevention and eight fall prevention – developed by experts from national and local safety organizations. It is designed to be implemented by multi-sector community-based coalitions encompassing the local fire department, EMS, health care professionals, wellness/fitness centers, senior centers and other related programs. The program is flexible enough to allow participants to determine how to best to adapt it for implementation within their local community in a manner that acknowledges and respects important cultural considerations. The 2-day workshop also provided excellent networking opportunities for participants to connect with each other and share success stories and lessons learned when implementing safety programs for tribal elders in their respective communities.

Remembering When