the Urban Indian Health Institute

July 2010 marks the UIHI’s 10th Anniversary!

Admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:58:50 +0000

This month marks the Urban Indian Health Institute’s 10th anniversary! Through the past 10 years we have seen many successes and have been fortunate to have a number of opportunities to serve the urban Indian community throughout the nation. We are grateful to all our partners who have assisted us throughout the years and hope you can join us in celebration of this monumental occasion. As the UIHI moves forward with new staff, projects, and vision, we hope that the urban Indian health family will continue to support our efforts and partner with us to address the health needs of our community. The UIHI would like to give a special thank you to the urban Indian health organizations, its advisory council members, project officers, and other key leaders that have helped to make the past ten years successful. We look forward to many more years of continued service to the urban Indian community.

Join Us Wednesday, July 21st 5pm to 7pm for an Open House Reception in Seattle to celebrate the achievements of the past 10 years and the journey ahead. Light refreshments will be served.

1225 South Weller Street, Suite 510, Seattle WA 98114

PSA Project

Meghan Jernigan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:51:42 +0000

The Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) and the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) are partnering to conduct an investigation related to access to prostate cancer care for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) men. This study will examine the feasibility of identifying men who have had an abnormal Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test, then characterizing the patterns of care for those individuals. Our goal is to identify barriers to care for men who have not had adequate follow-up after an abnormal PSA test.

The UIHI has identified 6 partner health organization sites for recruitment of study participants. The participating sites are:

1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, OR
3. San Jose, CA
4. Oakland, CA
5. Wichita, KA
6. Lincoln, NE

Prostate Cancer Factsheet
PSA Communication Broadcast

For more information on this project, please contact:

Meghan Jernigan, MPH
Project Coordinator
Urban Indian Health Institute
Seattle Indian Health Board
meghanj@uihi.org
Voice: (206) 812-3038
Fax: (206) 812-3044

June UIHO Spotlight

Admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:54:05 +0000

Read the new UIHO Spotlight page about an outstanding residency program training doctors to work in urban American Indian and Alaska Native communities and other underserved populations.

High Rates of Reproductive Health Risks and Sexual Violence Are Seen Among Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women

Shira Rutman — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:00:40 +0000

Executive Summary

Full Report

News Coverage - National Coverage of Reproductive Health Report

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

CONTACT: Shira Rutman
Phone: (206) 812-3030
shirar@uihi.org

(SEATTLE, WA) —High rates of sexual violence, unintended and teen pregnancies, and risky first sexual encounters are seen in a study of urban American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women. The study conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute, a division of the Seattle Indian Health Board provides a national picture of reproductive health and sexual violence for AI/AN women living in urban areas. This study is the first to examine data from the National Survey of Family Growth for this population. Findings show American Indian and Alaska Native women living in urban areas were more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report: non-voluntary first sexual intercourse, unintended and teen pregnancies, unprotected first sex and first sex with older partners. Rates of female sterilization and use of Depo-Provera were also greater among AI/AN compared to non-Hispanic whites.

“The reproductive health risks seen among urban Indian women in this report and especially the youth bring up the history of reproductive rights abuses experienced by Native women in this country” said Ralph Forquera, Director of the Institute.

“National Women’s Health Week, set for May 9 – 15, provides an opportunity to focus attention on the programs serving American Indian women in urban areas and to reinforce the importance of having health information and services that are culturally appropriate available,” continued Forquera. “Funding is needed for these programs to assure that they are most effective in addressing the issues outlined in this report.”

“President Barack Obama’s remarks in November 2009 at the Tribal Nations Conference in Washington D.C. that the high rate of rape and sexual violence against AI/AN women ‘is an assault on our national conscience that we can no longer ignore,’ applies to urban Indian women as well” said Forquera.

Amnesty International’s 2007 report, Maze of Injustice: The Failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA revealed the high rates of sexual violence experienced by Indigenous women on reservations and rural areas. “The findings on sexual violence presented in this report reinforce the fact that Indian women living in urban areas are similarly at risk,” Forquera continued.

“This report makes key connections between violence and health. Violence against Native women is a public health crisis, and the urban experience has not received the same degree of attention as that of reservations and rural tribal communities,” said Sarah Deer, contributing author to Amnesty International’s 2007 Maze of Injustice report.

To access the report, Reproductive Health of Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women, visit http://www.uihi.org/publications/reports/.

New UIHO Spotlight Page

Admin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:33:24 +0000

The Urban Indian Health Institute is excited to announce our new urban Indian health organization (UIHO) Spotlight initiative. As part of our ongoing effort to promote leadership and capacity building among urban AI/AN communities, the UIHO Spotlight program has been developed to recognize successful urban Indian events and programs, to highlight some of the great work being done, and to share ideas between agencies. With the information gathered, we will spotlight a UIHO program story on our website each month, in our quarterly newsletters, and additional venues so we can share these successful programs with those working in AI/AN health and the wider community.

Look for our first Spotlight article sharing the great success of a recent Mammography Day event held by the Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas where over ninety women received free screening services. Visit our UIHO Spotlight page at http://www.uihi.org/uiho-spotlight/, and check back frequently for regular updates.

If you have a project or program you would like to share with others, please contact us.

New Report from UIHI: Urban Indian Health Data System: Envisioning a National Health Information System for Urban Indian Health Organizations

Admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:08:35 +0000

On August 13, 2009, urban Indian health organizations from 21 cities across the nation participated in a planning session to consider strategies for a National Urban Indian Health Data System. This Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded effort built off the findings of the 2007 Urban Indian Health Commission report, and focused on the process of defining Health Information Technology goals across urban Indian health organizations.

The considerations and requirements identified in this report will help ensure thoughtful implementation of HIT tailored to the needs of organizations individually and across the urban Indian health organizations as a whole. There remains much to be done in implementing HIT for improving health services, capturing accurate data for population analysis, and meeting the requirements for securing and retaining resources to better serve the urban AI/AN health community. This report aims to provide guidance in this important work and the next steps required to bring the strategic plan to action.

Hard copies of the report have been mailed to urban Indian health organizations. To download the full report, please click here.

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.

Announcing the Community Health Profiles

Admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:09:48 +0000

The Urban Indian Health Institute is excited to announce the release of the 2009 Community Health Profiles. These health profiles provide an overview of the health of 34 distinct communities served by the network of Title V funded urban Indian health organizations (UIHO) across the country. The local health data presented in the profiles can be used as a tool for health education, advocacy, or to inform the development of new programming. While the health profiles examine preventable causes of illness, death, and access to care, not every health disparity is examined. The UIHI will be updating the profiles as new data become available. To review your community’s health profile, please click here and select your city. We hope that these health profiles are useful to you and the community you serve.

HEALTH DISPARITIES IDENTIFIED FOR URBAN AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES

Maile Taualii — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:39:04 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 31, 2009

CONTACT: Maile Taualii, PhD, MPH
Scientific Director
Phone: (206) 812-3030
mailet@uihi.org

(SEATTLE, WA) — A new report released by the Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board provides an analysis of data collected from numerous sources about health disparities facing American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) living in urban areas. Funding for the study was provided by the Office of Minority Health. The report summarizes health disparities affecting urban AI/AN compared to both Healthy People 2010 (HP 2010) Objectives and to the general population.

The study found sixteen of the analyzed HP 2010 Objectives with rates among urban AI/AN at least three times higher than the established target rates. Nineteen analyzed HP 2010 Objectives showed at least a 50% higher rate among urban AI/AN of the adverse outcome compared to the general population. Health disparities identified in comparison to both HP 2010 and the general population include the following: health insurance coverage, pap test receipt, post-neonatal deaths, deaths from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), prenatal care beginning in first trimester of pregnancy, suicide attempts by adolescents and marijuana, inhalants and spit tobacco use by adolescents. “These alarming rates of health disparities demonstrate the continued need to focus attention on American Indians and Alaska Natives residing in cities,” reports Ralph Forquera, Executive Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board. “It is extremely important to ensure that these and other findings on the health of Native people are reported widely if disparities are to be addressed and eliminated.”

Also included in the report is a description of known limitations of current national data sources when assessing the health of urban AI/AN. The report offers recommendations on how to use information for advocacy and program planning purposes and ways to improve national data collection for urban AI/AN analysis. The findings highlight the severity of health inequities faced by urban AI/AN and key health issues facing this population.

To access the report, Visibility Through Data: Health Information for Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Communities, visit www.uihi.org.

Testing of Sexual Violence Definitions and Recommended Data Elements in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

Alice Park — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:28:17 +0000

The goal of the project is to develop a new sexual violence survey and determine its effectiveness in gathering information to assess more precise details related to sexual violence experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women. The project is funded by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who have contracted with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (NORC) to conduct the interviews.

The project is divided in two phases: the cognitive interview (Phase 1) and face-to-face interview (Phase 2). The purpose of the first phase is to develop and test a culturally appropriate survey to describe characteristics and circumstances related to sexual violence within the community. Revisions to the survey will be made as a result of Phase 1, then the survey will be fielded with 200 AI/AN women. The overall purpose of the project is to use a comprehensive sexual violence survey instrument to improve our understanding about sexual violence victimization prevalence, characteristics, circumstances, and help-seeking behavior in a sample of AI/AN women.

Timeframe: August 2009-August 2010

Point of Contact/Phone number/E-mail address:

Alice Park, Lead Project Coordinator, Urban Indian Health Institute, (206) 812-3030, alicep@uihi.org