240618 Indigenous Health Leadership Institute

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Jan Atencio, RN , Santo Domingo CHR/KHOP/LYP, Santo Domingo, NM
Karen Waconda-Lewis, LMT, MS, Traditional Healer , First Nations Community HealthSource, Albuquerque, NM
Robin Clemons , Pueblo of Acoma Senior Center & Elderly Assistance Program, Acoma, NM
Anthony Fleg , Native Health Initiative, Albuquerque, NM
Shannon Fleg, MS , Native Health Initiative, Diné Nation, Albuquerque, NM
Indigenous populations in the United States, ranging from the 700+ American Indian/Alaska Native populations to less defined indigenous populations from Mexico, Latin America, South America and across the world, have unique cultures, perspectives on health, and health needs. This population lives sicker and dies younger than the general U.S. population, a trend seen worldwide with indigenous populations. Two core questions are often asked 1) Why is this? and 2)What can we, as health professionals, do about this situation and how do we eliminate inequities in health amongst Indigenous and other marginalized populations? Through the Native Health Initiative, a partnership to address health inequities through "loving service" (the human to human element of wanting to serve others) and tribal health partners a 3-day Indigenous Health Leadership Institute (IHLI) was created. Too often, leanring takes place in a university with a classroom and by a professor.However, IHLI demonstrated that Indigenous health can be taught in a community setting by Indigenous healers, community members, youth, and elders. They served as "professors" of the day, as they taught health professionals and health professions students about their unique perspectives and experience with health. IHLI is one approach that indentifies how to amplify community assets, build trusting relationship, share mutual leadership and decision-making processes, as well respect tribal sovereignty and acknolwedge community experts from Indigenous populations.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1) To demonstrate how partnership with tribal communities created a 3-day Indigenous Health Leadership Institute. 2)To describe how an immersion into a tribal community provided cultural guidance to future health care professionals. 3) To discuss how tribal community experts shared their experience, culture, and health (instead of lining up health experts) to educate and increase future health professionals knowledge of Indigenous health. 4) To explain how American Indian/Alaska Native communities can create and foster their community and cultural assets to teach both Native and non-Native health professionals about Indigenous Health.

Keywords: Community Assets, American Indians

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for program planning for the Indigenous Health Leadership Institute and being a health care professional (RN).
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.