Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120350

Gale Dutcher, MLS, MS and Lucie Chu Chen, BS, MLS. Specialized Information Services Division, Office of Outreach and Special Populations, National Library of Medicine, 6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 510, Room 518, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301/496-5082, DUTCHERG@mail.nlm.nih.gov

According to the 2000 census over 4 million residents of the United States claimed American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry, in whole or in part. American Indian tribes are culturally distinctive, diverse, and complex; they are living on nearly 300 reservations in the lower 48 states, several hundred villages in Alaska, and speak more than 300 different languages. Unfortunately, health statistics show serious disparities between these populations and the white, non-Hispanic population of the United States. Higher than average mortality and morbidity is due to a wide range of conditions including diabetes, tuberculosis, mental illness, and substance abuse. The American Indian Health Web site of the National Library of Medicine is designed to bring together health and biomedical information resources for and about these populations, into one organized, readily accessible location. The site is intended to include a wide range of health information that is appropriate for the consumer as well as useful for clinicians, researchers and policy makers. The site was designed in consultation with the National Congress of American Indians President's Task Force on Health Information and Technology. The site will be maintained and updated with assistance from several ad hoc groups around the country, including a users group in North Dakota. NLM plans to partner with representatives of American Indian and Alaska Native communities to continue to identify new material to add to the site, including information not currently in digital format.

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