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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Tribal communities

Other Project Examples

Updated/reviewed December 2024

  • Need: To bring low-cost water and sanitation improvements to homes in tribal villages in Alaska without access to piped water or sewer systems.
  • Intervention: The Portable Alternative Sanitation System (PASS) treats hauled water, provides for handwashing with clean water, and disposes waste without traditional piping.
  • Results: Residents in the pilot project reported that PASS was cleaner and healthier than the self-haul method.

Added August 2024

  • Need: To improve oral health among the residents of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
  • Intervention: St. Francis Mission founded a dental clinic, staffed by volunteers from across the country, to offer free oral healthcare to residents of the Rosebud Reservation.
  • Results: The clinic typically offers 20 one-week clinics every year and has served 3,000 patients since transitioning to electronic records in 2021.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed December 2023

  • Need: Drowning was a leading cause of death for children in Alaska.
  • Intervention: Cold Water Safety and Survival for Educators workshops were developed in 1998, with help from a 4-year federal grant, to train educators to provide education and hands-on skills for school children and members of the public.
  • Results: The safety program was integrated into about 50% of Alaskan school curriculum and schools in other states, helping to train hundreds of educators and thousands of children on the importance of cold water safety.
funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed May 2023

  • Need: To help adults and children in rural South Dakota prevent or manage their diabetes.
  • Intervention: The Facing Diabetes Project offered medical visits for adults and provided prevention and education sessions for the local 4th and 5th graders.
  • Results: Many adults and children in the region felt better equipped to choose healthy foods, exercise regularly, and manage their stress: all factors that can help prevent diabetes or decrease its effects.

Updated/reviewed March 2023

  • Need: Lack of access to oral healthcare for children from limited-income families in the rural and urban areas of South Dakota.
  • Intervention: Delta Dental of South Dakota launched the Delta Dental Mobile Program in 2004 to expand access to oral healthcare services to children throughout the rural state.
  • Results: The Delta Dental Mobile Program has provided over $38 million in dental care to more than 68,000 South Dakota children.

Updated/reviewed July 2022

  • Need: The Seneca Nation of Indians has experienced disproportionate rates of opioid, alcohol, and substance misuse.
  • Intervention: The Seneca Nation Government and Executives founded Seneca Strong, a cultural recovery peer advocate program, with the goal of reducing substance misuse across the Nation.
  • Results: Seneca Strong has since grown in personnel and capacity to meet the needs of the Allegany and Cattaraugus territories of the Seneca Nation.

Updated/reviewed November 2020

  • Need: Decrease rates of domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and child neglect for people in remote tribal villages.
  • Intervention: An evidence-based model of traditional culture trains local communities on methods of prevention and treatment for domestic and interpersonal violence.
  • Results: Self-sustaining local system with improved family and spiritual well-being and decreased healthcare access needs.

For examples from other sources, see: