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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: American Indian or Alaska Native

The Impact of OCS Programs in Indigenous Communities
Highlights programming and funding for Indigenous communities offered by the Administration for Children and Families' Office of Community Services. Includes a map of tribal communities receiving funding and offers case studies of some funded projects.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: ACF Office of Community Services
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Invisible Children, Invisible Families: A Blueprint for Supporting The Child Care Needs Of American Indian And Alaska Native Families
Discusses the review of 184 Tribal Child Care Plans to understand access to culturally relevant child care and childhood education in tribal areas. Provides recommendations such as strengthening communication and collaboration between state governments and tribes, creating new approaches for tribes to serve members living off reservation, and reforming federal funding to address tribal needs using data-driven methods.
Author(s): Barb Fabre, Rob Grunewald, Linda K. Smith, Caroline Osborn
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Health Coverage Among American Indian and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander People
Provides an overview of health insurance coverage for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) people. Provides additional information on demographics, work status, income, and English proficiency. Discusses issues of access, equity, and geographic isolation for these communities.
Author(s): Latoya Hill, Samantha Artiga
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Bridging the Rural–Urban Health-Care Divide Through Community Research Partnerships
Highlights a health equity program that partners researchers with a remote indigenous community. Discusses the Siamit program in a remote, predominately Iñupiat, region of Alaska that partners with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital working to advance health equity.
Author(s): Lucas Trout, Margaret Smith, Linda Joule, Stuart Harris
Citation: Nature
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
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Relative Foster Care Is Increasing Among American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Foster Care
Provides information on the percentage increase of relative foster care among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children between 2018 and 2021 in 8 states with the largest proportion of AI/AN children.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Child Trends
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RCORP: Helping Meet Rural Needs
Video series featuring the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), a multi-year initiative that funds a range of grant programs to help rural communities treat and prevent opioid use disorder. RCORP grantees share how they have used this funding to address the needs of their communities.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Advancing Health Equity in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities: FY2023 Year in Review
Summarizes Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) activities in fiscal year 2023 to advance health equity for people living in rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities. Covers six priority focus areas: applying a community-informed geographic lens; increasing the collection and use of standardized data; strengthening and supporting healthcare professionals; optimizing medical and communication technology; expanding access to comprehensive healthcare coverage, benefits, and services and supports; and driving innovation and value-based care.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Fentanyl in Native Communities: Native Perspectives on Addressing the Growing Crisis
Recording of a November 8, 2023 hearing discussing fentanyl in both Native Hawaiian and American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. Features testimony from Lummi Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation, and representatives of the behavioral health and public health fields. Discusses the criminal justice system, behavioral health workforce shortages, health impacts of historical trauma, and more. Captions available within the video player.
Additional links: Dr. A. Aukahi Austin Seabury, Ph.D., I Ola Lāhui, Inc. - Testimony, Dr. Claradina Soto, Ph.D., Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California - Testimony, Mr. Eric M. Gettis, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium - Testimony, The Honorable Bryce Kirk, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck - Testimony, The Honorable Jamie S. Azure, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota - Testimony, The Honorable Tony Hillaire, Lummi Nation - Testimony
Date: 11/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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Indian Health Service: Many Federal Facilities Are in Fair or Poor Condition and Better Data Are Needed on Medical Equipment
Examines the state of the Indian Health Service's (IHS) federally-operated medical facilities and equipment between January 2022 and November 2023. Describes IHS efforts to mitigate the negative effects aging facilities and equipment may have on patient care. Offers policy recommendations to the Director of IHS regarding equipment planning, acquisition, and management.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Improving Maternity Care for Indigenous Populations
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with Tina Pattara-Lau, M.D., maternal and child health consultant with the Indian Health Service Office of Clinical and Preventive Services, and Johnna Nynas, M.D., obstetrics and gynecology specialist at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center. Describes common disparities and systemic barriers Indigenous people experience in maternity care and ways hospitals and healthcare organizations can address these challenges and provide culturally-focused care.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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