Weekly News, Funding, Resources, and Upcoming Events in Indian Country

December 19, 2019

Native Women Come Together to Confront High Rates of Maternal Mortality

Indian Country is plagued with high maternal mortality rates. Indigenous organizations in the Southwest—specifically on Navajo Nation—have taken action to combat this crisis in order to prevent deaths that occur during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Read more here.

CDC Report on Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the US and Dependent Areas

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a new HIV Surveillance Report titled “Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2018.” This new report summarizes information about diagnosed HIV infection in the US and dependent areas. The report also shows the continuation of an alarming increase of HIV diagnoses among American Indian/Alaska Native men that have sex with men (an increase of 51% from 2013 to 2018). To accompany the new surveillance report, CDC has also published an infographic highlighting key data.

Short-term Exposure to Air Pollution Linked with New Causes of Hospital Admissions, Substantial Economic Costs

Hospitalizations for several common diseases—including septicemia (serious bloodstream infection), fluid and electrolyte disorders, renal failure, urinary tract infections, and skin and tissue infections—have been linked for the first time with short-term exposure to fine particulate  air pollution  (PM _2.5 ), according to a comprehensive new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In addition, the study found that even small increases in PM _2.5, exposure were linked with substantial health care and economic costs. Read more here.

Tribal Leaders Embrace South Dakota Anti-Meth Ad Campaign

Despite the ridicule of Governor Kristi Noem's anti-methamphetamine campaign slogan "Meth. We're on it," the campaign has found support from from Tribal leaders like David Flute, South Dakota's Secretary of Tribal Relations. Tribal leaders are tired of the impact that is being made within their communities due to methamphetamine use, and at least $1.4 million is being used to raise more awareness for this public health issue. Read more here.

Note: Please see the Tribal Public Health Broadcast issue on January 2nd, 2020 to read of a clarification regarding the information above.

Special Diabetes Program for Indians: Poster Session Call for Proposals

Deadline: TOMORROW, Friday, December 20, 2019 by 11:59 pm ET

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) invites Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) grantees to submit proposals to highlight the accomplishments of their programs at the Annual NIHB National Tribal Public Health Summit (TPHS) in Omaha, NE on March 17-19, 2020. The Annual SDPI Poster Session is a great way for success stories to be heard by a large audience of Tribal leaders and Tribal health professionals, as well as share program ideas with other grantees. The poster session will take place the evening of March 17, 2020 during TPHS Opening Reception.

SDPI presenters are also invited to volunteer to lead a fitness session during the Summit- please indicate in your proposal if you are interested.

For instructions, and to submit your proposal, click here.

HRSA Rural Health Care Coordination Program Grant

Deadline: Thursday, March 12, 2020

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2020 Rural Health Care Coordination Program. The purpose of this program is to support rural health consortiums aiming to improve access and quality of care through application of care coordination strategies with the focus areas of collaboration, leadership and workforce, improved outcomes, and sustainability in rural communities.

The FY 2020 President’s Budget does not request funding for this program. This notice is a contingency action taken to ensure that, should funds become available for this purpose, HRSA can process applications and award funds in a timely manner. It should be noted that this program may be cancelled prior to award. Read more here.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Drug Abuse Research Fellow

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, seeks to recruit a Cancer Research Training Award (CRTA) Fellow to work at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This full-time fellowship position in NIDA’s Native American Program provides opportunities for training and professional development. The fellow will interact daily with researchers in public health both within and outside of National Institutes of Health and function as a member of the Native American Program within the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research within NIDA. Read more here.

Submit Comments on Environmental Justice Legislation

Comments due Tuesday, January 24, 2020

Comprehensive environmental justice legislation - informed by input from stakeholders across the country - will be introduced by Natural Resources Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva and Representative A. Donald McEachin. Stakeholders are able to provide line-by-line feedback into the discussion draft and congressional staff will work hard to evaluate each recommendation and potentially modify the legislation. Read more here.

NACCHO Launches Call for Abstracts for Reimagined 2020 Annual Conference

Due: Thursday, January 16, 2020

Event: Sunday, July 17-19, 2020 in Denver, CO

For the first time ever, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is taking a new approach to the 2020 annual conference by bridging the traditional NACCHO Annual conference with PHIITS: Public Health Informatics, Information Technology, and Surveillance, a reimagined Public Health Informatics (PHI) Conference, which explores more than just informatics. NACCHO 360: Raising the Reach of Public Health aims to break down silos and unite members from across disciplines and agencies, while also preserving pathways that respect the focus and interests of the individual public health professions.  Read more here.

USDA Offers Tribal Students Career-Track Scholarships in Agriculture

Deadline: February 9, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the opening of the 2020 scholarship application cycle for the USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program. The program aims to increase the number of Tribal college and university students studying agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, and other agriculture-related disciplines. The program is open to high school and college students.

Come Work for NIHB!

NIHB is seeking qualified candidates for the following position:

These positions are based in Washington, DC. Those who are interested in making a positive difference in the health of America’s Native Peoples’ lives are encouraged to apply. Read more here.

NIHB is Seeking Indigenous Knowledge on Blood Lead Level Testing

NIHB is working in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase the capacity of rural and non-urban Tribal communities for identifying and addressing elevated blood lead levels in Tribal children. To accomplish this, NIHB seeks to engage Tribal representatives and health professionals in 60-minute key informant interviews. The interviews will ask Tribal Health Directors or programmatic staff to describe their programs or operational plans in place for blood lead level testing and their current knowledge of lead exposure risk factors. Protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Sara Zdunek at [email protected] or 202-507-4077 .

HRSA Publishes Ryan White HIV State Profiles

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has recently made the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program 2017 State Profiles available online.

The 2017 State Profiles is an online resource that provides users with a national and state-by-state look at Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Services Report (RSR) client-level data for 2017. The data visualization tool offers a detailed look at national and state-level information on Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program recipients, providers, and clients. Read more here.

Tribal Climate Health Project Webinar Series

Third Tuesdays of each month (1:00 – 2:30 PM ET) from January 21, 2020 through August 18, 2020

The Tribal Climate Health Project, an initiative of the Pala Band of Mission Indians/Pala Environmental Department, is pleased to announce the 2020 Tribal Climate & Health Adaptation Regional Cohort Webinar Series. Please visit their website for more information on how to register for this free series of eight live webinars.

Registration Now Open! 2020 Annual National Tribal Public Health Summit

Tuesday-Thursday, March 17-19, 2019 in Omaha, NE

Save the date! Please join NIHB in Omaha, NE for the 11th Annual National Tribal Public Health Summit. Registration is now open—take advantage of early bird registration fees by registration before February 14, 2020. For more information on registration, location, lodging, exhibitors, and sponsorship, visit the  Summit website here.

NIHB Webinar: Polishing your PowerPoint

Tuesday, January 14, 2020 from 1:00-2:00 PM ET

Have you ever sat through a PowerPoint presentation with slides that are hard to read, too wordy, or confusing? Was that presentation yours? Become a PowerPoint pro by learning how to use it to enhance your presentation rather than distract from it. This webinar, hosted by the Climate and Health Learning Community but open to all, will provide advice, tips, techniques, and strategies for how to make PowerPoint work for you, rather than the other way around. Making better, more effective presentations is an important tool to share your work and tell your community's story!  Learn more or register here!