Rural Tribal Health – Resources

Collaborating for Prosperity With American Indians and Alaska Natives: Rural Development Programs for Tribes, Tribal Families, Children, and Communities
Highlights the major USDA Rural Development (RD) programs and initiatives that support American Indians and Alaska Natives. Covers topics such as food security, housing, education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and infrastructure. Features success stories of how these programs have been used in tribal communities. Also includes contact information for the RD office in each state.
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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Indian Health Service: Facilities Reported Expanding Services Following Increases in Health Insurance Coverage and Collections
Report details rates of health insurance coverage in patients seen at Indian Health Service facilities. Looks at the rates of coverage by third party insurers, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and private plans, from 2013-2018.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Oversight Hearing on "GAO Report on Tribal Access to Spectrum: Promoting Communications Services in Indian Country"
Presents the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing on the need for accelerating deployment of high-speed cable internet to improve tribal access to broadband services specifically licensed spectrum. Features testimony from representatives from Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Gila River Telecommunications, Inc. Chairperson Belinda Nelson, and Chief Technology Director for Santa Fe Indian School Kimball Sekaquaptewa.
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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Promoting Health Coverage of American Indian and Alaska Native Children
Provides an overview of the health disparities American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children face. Reports on healthcare coverage trends for AI/AN children from 2008 to 2015, with information on 3 public sources of coverage: the Indian Health Service (IHS), Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Includes recommendations to improve coverage for AI/AN children.
Author(s): Lauren Roygardner, Andy Schneider, Doug Steiger
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
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Collaborative Implementation of a Community-based Exercise Intervention with a Partnering Rural American Indian Community
Presents a study on an intervention to address obesity and type 2 diabetes among rural American Indian youth. Details an exercise-based intervention implemented via a partnership between the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Author(s): Jennifer Q Chadwick, Mary A Tullier, Lisa Wolbert, et al.
Citation: Clinical Trials, 16(4), 391-398
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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Indian Health Service Human-Centered Design
Examines the requirements of a next-generation health information technology (HIT) system at the Indian Health Services (IHS), including interoperability, electronic health records, and telehealth capabilities, among others. Presents service blueprints and use cases that can be field-tested and evaluated. Publication is free to access after providing an email address.
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: &Partners, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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The Role of Tribal Epidemiology Centers: Podcast with Vanesscia Cresci, MSW, MPA, and Rosalina James, PhD
Podcast discusses the role of tribal epidemiology centers in studying and mitigating health disparities among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Details some of the ways tribal epidemiology centers are able to serve their communities more effectively than outside entities.
Author(s): Camelia Singletary
Citation: JPHMP Direct
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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Organizational Challenges to Improving Quality of Care in Indian Health Service Hospitals
Identifies organizational issues hindering the Indian Health Service (IHS) from improving the management of IHS hospitals. Discusses concerns related to formal structure, policies and roles; awareness of hospital performance and problems; and IHS officials' confidence in the agency's ability to make sustained improvements. Recommends strategies for improvement.
Author(s): Suzanne Murrin
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Implementation of Liver Cancer Education Among Health Care Providers and Community Coalitions in the Cherokee Nation
Describes an intervention in 2017-2018 to plan and implement activities to increase knowledge and awareness of liver cancer prevention among Cherokee Nation health care providers. Includes recommendations to improve viral hepatitis surveillance, increase support for strategies to eliminate hepatitis B virus, and enhance services including risk factor screening and serologic testing.
Author(s): Behnoosh Momin, Jorge Mera, Whitney Essex, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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Adult Health Status among Native American Families Participating in the Growing Resilience Home Garden Study
Reports the results of a randomized controlled trial examining the impacts of home food gardens on the health status of 176 adults from 96 families of the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes living on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Compares the rates of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes among study participants with the state and national disease rates in 2017, and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) national disease rates in 2015.
Author(s): Christine M. Porter, Alyssa M. Wechsler, Shawn J. Hime, Felix Naschold
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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