Purpose: To provide background information on the Indian Health Service (IHS) Injury Prevention Program (IPP) and the external evaluation being conducted by the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center (UNC IPRC). Results: The age adjusted injury death rate for Native Americans is 2.2 times the U.S. rate overall. The IHS IPP uses a multifaceted intervention approach in each of 12 IHS Area Offices to reduce injury morbidity and mortality. The IPP provides funding, training, and technical assistance to increase the capacity of American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to address their injury problems. Since the IHS IPP was initiated in 1972, injuries to American Indian and Alaska Native people have decreased by more than 50 percent, however injuries continue to be a major public health problem facing Native Americans. Conclusions: It has been more than 12 years since an external evaluation of the IHS Injury Prevention Program has been conducted.. Since March 1997, IHS has collaborated with UNC IPRC to design a plan and to develop methods to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the IPP at it's 12 Areas. The goal of the IP Program Evaluation is to assist IHS National and the Area IP staff in developing effective programs that have the necessary infrastructure and intervention focus to reduce morbidity and mortality among Native Americans. The evaluation will ultimately assist the IHS in developing a strategic plan for the IPP for the 21st Century.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the severity of injury morbidity and mortality for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. 2. Describe the Indian Health Service Injury Prevention Program's major components and accomplishments. 3. Discuss the importance of using external evaluators to complete a program evaluation
Keywords: Injury Prevention, Evaluation
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.