175493 White Mountain Apache Tribe/ Johns Hopkins University (WMAT/JHU) Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) student and faculty development training project

Monday, October 27, 2008

Mariddie Craig , Court Administrator, WMAT, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Whiteriver, AZ
Cathie Frazier, MS, MPH , Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Francene Larzelere-Hinton , Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, Whiteriver, AZ
Kathleen Norton, MA , Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, Whiteriver, AZ
Kristen Lynne Speakman, MA/ MPH , Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, Albuquerque, NM
Olivia Sloan, BA , Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Allison Barlow, MPH, MA , Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Mathuram Santosham, MD, MPH , International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Background: Through a NARCH I award, WMAT/JHU launched a student and faculty development program in which 93 Apache scholars and health leaders participated in graduate coursework and workshops to design interventions to target key health disparities and to advance skills of Apache scientist-researchers to compete for future NIH opportunities. The NARCH III award builds upon this success. Methods: The NARCH III training program has established a 5-stage research training initiative for Apache scholars, which includes 1) Semi-annual institute courses at Johns Hopkins; 2) Public Health Certificate Program; 3) Research Coordinator Course; 4) Graduate/Doctoral level training; 5) Community Outreach and Education. Results: The WMAT/JHU NARCH made progress in each of the 5 areas. Annually, twenty (20) students from the WMA Tribe participate in semi-annual public health institutes (160 over 4 years). Five WMA tribal members per year are eligible to enroll in the certificate program (total =20). Three Hopkins NARCH staff will graduate in an intensive Hopkins Research Coordinator Course in spring 2008. Two full time graduate scholars will be recruited and enrolled at JHBSPH; in May 2007, the first WMA tribal member graduated with an MPH degree from Johns Hopkins. Community education programs are conducted monthly and a summer internship program to encourage pre-college educational planning among high school students is conducted over a 4 week period each summer in Whiteriver, AZ. Conclusions: The WMAT/ JHU NARCH Training Program is an innovative initiative that demonstrates the impact of a well designed training program to develop a cadre of Apache researchers.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the WMAT/JHU NARCH Training Project and discuss possible means of transferring program components to other tribal communities. List five training components of the WMAT/JHU NARCH Training Project. Discuss outcomes of the WMAT/JHU NARCH Training Project and lessons learned for other tribal/university partners interested in developing similar initiatives.

Keywords: Native Populations, Professional Training

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Principal Investigator on this project and oversee and provide direction for all aspects.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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