At the request of the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the Maine Bureau of Health conducted an assessment of the health needs of Maine’s Native American residents for presentation to a regional conference on health disparities experienced by Native Americans in New England. The conference, co-sponsored by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Indian Health Services (IHS), was attended by representatives of New England states’ health and Medicaid programs, private and public universities and colleges, and health and political leaders from the region’s Native American tribes. The assessment and analysis included: a review of population data on socio-economic status, morbidity, and natality and mortality over the past 20 years; review of data from a behavioral risk factor survey of one Maine Native American sub-population; and interviews with key informants from each of Maine’s five tribes and/or bands. Key findings indicated that major improvements in the health status of the Native American population may have been made over the past two decades. While alternative explanations (such as misclassification of race on vital records) are being explored, it appears that health disparities between the Native American and the general, majority white population of Maine, while not resolved, are being successfully addressed. As a result of this assessment process and its findings, the Maine Bureau of Health is formalizing working partnerships with Maine’s five tribes/bands. Program and policy implications for Maine are explored and discussed with an eye toward implications for other states.
Learning Objectives: 1) Describe the application of health needs assessment process and techniques that have been used to describe and analyze health disparities as experienced by Native Americans in Maine. 2) Discuss program and policy implications of a health needs assessment for a state health department working in partnership with a racial minority community. 3) Discuss the implications of misclassification of racial data for assessing health status of populations
Keywords: American Indians, Assessments
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: State of Maine Department of Human Services, Bureau of Health
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employer