the Urban Indian Health Institute » Communicable Disease

Announcing New Viral Hepatitis Awareness Posters

Annie Phare — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:07:30 +0000

The UIHI is pleased to announce the release of a viral hepatitis awareness poster series. Viral hepatitis is a serious public health issue that affects many urban American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) across the country. Since viral hepatitis is largely preventable through vaccination and education, it is essential that we make every attempt to inform our communities. The UIHI hopes that these posters will help increase awareness about hepatitis and stimulate greater discussion between patients and providers about prevention, vaccination, and treatment in order to curb the tide of this silent epidemic.

The UIHI thanks Victor Pascual (Navajo) for his artistic work and the community members from the greater Seattle area for allowing us to use their images for these materials. Posters are being mailed to all urban Indian health organizations. To download copies of these materials or to learn more, please click here.

June 27th is National HIV Testing Day

Admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:10:16 +0000

The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) launched National HIV Testing Day to promote the importance of counseling, testing, and early diagnosis. June 27, 2009 marks the 14th observance of National HIV Testing Day.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one out of five people in the U.S. living with HIV are unaware of their HIV status. The CDC also reports that American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have the third highest rate of HIV and AIDS diagnosis in the United States, following African Americans and Hispanics. The following websites provide testing resources and informational posters and flyers that can be used in your agency to help raise awareness of HIV testing.

The National Association of People with AIDS

U.S Department of Health and Human Services

National HIV and STD Testing Resources

UIHI provides free onsite viral hepatitis prevention training to UIHO

Annie Phare — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:39:18 +0000

American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) experience high rates of Hepatitis C compared to other racial/ethnic populations. AI/AN also experience high mortality rates due to chronic liver disease and are two times more likely to be diagnosed with chronic liver disease than non-Hispanic Whites.

Through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indian Health Services, the Urban Indian Health Institute provides free viral hepatitis prevention training to behavioral health and non-clinical staff at Title V urban Indian health organizations (UIHO).

Training is adapted to suit the needs of each UIHO and intended to help staff integrate prevention and education services into current systems. The training includes:

Overview of viral hepatitis
Information about disease transmission
Discussion of at risk groups
Strategies for prevention
Recommendations for screening and vaccination
Discussion of harm reduction and risk assessment

To schedule a free training at your site or to discuss if this training is right for you and your staff, please contact Annie Phare at anniep@uihi.org or (206) 812-3030.

Communicable Diseases Project

Rachel Brucker — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 19:00:11 +0000

The aim of this project is to identify and then assess the burden of communicable diseases that affect urban American Indians and Alaska Natives. Multiple resources will be used to determine those infectious diseases most impacting our population. Source of data related to these issues will then be explored, both to attempt to quantify the burden of disease and to highlight gaps and limitations in the available data.

Contact: Rachel Brucker, phone 206-812-3042

Viral Hepatitis Prevention

Admin — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 19:00:05 +0000

Announcing New Viral Hepatitis Awareness Posters
The UIHI is pleased to announce the release of a viral hepatitis awareness poster series. Viral hepatitis is a serious public health issue that affects many urban American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) across the country. AI/AN have had one of the highest rates of viral hepatitis in the nation when compared with other racial and ethnic populations making it important that our agencies prioritize hepatitis education and prevention.

Since viral hepatitis is largely preventable through vaccination and education, it is essential that we make every attempt to inform our communities. The UIHI hopes that these posters will help increase awareness about hepatitis and stimulate greater discussion between patients and providers about prevention, vaccination, and treatment in order to curb the tide of this silent epidemic.

Posters have been mailed to all urban Indian health organizations. To download copies of the materials, use the following PDF links below. If you would like to request copies of the posters or would like additional information about viral hepatitis prevention, please contact Annie Phare, Project Coordinator, at anniep@uihi.org.

Knowledge is the best weapon against hepatitis
Next Generation
The best cure is prevention

Special thanks to Victor Pascual (Navajo) for his artistic work and to the community members from the greater Seattle area for allowing us to use their images for these materials. To learn more about the artist, please visit http://dnvjostudio.com/.

Viral hepatitis is a serious public health concern, but one that is largely preventable. The Urban Indian Health Institute has received grant funding from the Indian Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control to provide free training to urban Indian health organization staff on viral hepatitis and how to integrate prevention services into current organizational structure. The UIHI viral hepatitis prevention trainings include critical information about disease transmission and risk groups, recommendations for patient screenings and vaccination, exploring collaborations with other local community providers, as well as a discussion of harm reduction and risk assessment. Integrating viral hepatitis issues into an existing urban Indian health organization program builds routine procedures into existing infrastructure, thus reducing barriers to service, meeting client needs, and complimenting services that target the same population.

Partners: New York State Department of Health – Viral Hepatitis Training Center and Indian Health Service

Contact: Annie Phare, phone 206-812-3032

Viral Hepatitis Integration Project

Rachel Brucker — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 19:00:05 +0000

Continuation of 6-year project aimed at integrating viral hepatitis prevention services at Seattle Indian Health Board’s inpatient chemical dependency treatment center. Services include screening, testing for current or past infection, risk reduction counseling, education, immunization, HIV testing and counseling, and referral. The Urban Indian Health Institute is responsible for project coordination, data analysis and reporting.

Partners: Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indian Health Service Division of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention

Contact: Rachel Brucker, phone 206-812-3042