Equipping Public Health Leaders Who Can Address the Health Issues in American Indian Communities Through Culturally Congruent Approaches

It is widely accepted that health outcomes improve as socioeconomic position improves.  A growing body of empirical evidence strongly supports and consistently links educational attainment with improved health outcomes, even when other socioeconomic factors, including income are taken into account. American Indian children and families endure some of the worst disparities and inequities in the nation, as well as the lowest educational achievement rates. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary to address the health disparities and inequities experienced by American Indians. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a curriculum and an instructional approach that has been specifically designed to prepare graduates to work with and improve the health of American Indian populations in culturally compatible and congruent ways. The three core instructors are of American Indian descent with doctoral degrees in various public health related fields. The majority of the students enrolled in this specialty track are either American Indian or are working within Native communities. The implementation of this type of public health curriculum is one step towards ensuring there is the capacity to implement change, to create a public health workforce that is well informed and has an understanding of the impacts of history, social determinants and the cultural dimensions of health and how they impact on contemporary American Indian health, practice and research. Furthermore, educating American Indian students who will become leaders in healthcare is not only essential, but fundamental to making the necessary health improvements among American Indian populations that are too long overdue.