GOOD HEALTH AND WELLNESS IN INDIAN COUNTRY GRANT (CDC)
The Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) is a 5-year program funded at $16 million in 2015. Twelve tribes (Component 1) work on a variety of health interventions and strategies alongside 11 tribal organizations and 12 tribal epidemiology centers, or TECs (Component 2) Southern Plains Health Board is a component 2 grantee.
GHWIC supports a coordinated, holistic approach to healthy living and chronic disease prevention and reinforces the work already under way in Indian Country to make healthy choices and lifeways easier for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The purpose of this funding is to provide tribes in the Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas areas with the leadership, stewardship, TA, training, and resources necessary to assist in chronic disease prevention. GHWIC’s long-term goals are to reduce rates of death and disability from tobacco use, reduce the prevalence of obesity, and reduce rates of death and disability from diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The intended outcomes of this programs are to strengthen healthy lifeways and promote practices that keep American Indians and Alaska Natives well. The program is designed to expand by working with more tribes directly and extending its reach and impact through tribal organizations, should more funding become available. Because solutions to public health problems already exist in Indian Country, GHWIC grantees participate with CDC and other partners in “communities of practice” that promote peer-to-peer learning and problem solving. Grantees regularly share their program activities, successes, and challenges. These communities of practice have strengthened collaborations among grantees and CDC.
By building the infrastructure to support culturally appropriate, effective public health approaches and better address the long-standing challenges to healthy behaviors and lifeways, American Indians and Alaska Natives can make sustainable gains in health and quality of life.
- Increased number of sub-awardee partners for 2017 from 13 to 18. This expanded outreach is instrumental in expansion of the Good Health and Wellness grant to better serve tribes and tribal organizations.
- Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country program fully staffed for 2017. Hiring qualified and knowledgeable team members to provide technical assistance and guidance to those entities who request services.
- Change in leadership. Staff more aware of roles and responsibilities and prompted growth and stability for other staff members. Even though we are experiencing growing pains, we are entering a phase in our existence where our outreach to member tribes is on pace to provide a voice for all tribes in the Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas areas.
The direct population affected by program funding are tribes and tribal serving organizations. This includes tribal health professionals, providers and program specialists receiving the funding and/or seeking assistance from the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board -Tribal Epi Center in carrying out prevention activities associated with this program.Through outreach, increased knowledge, and capacity the program will afford partners and awardees with prevention efforts that have the potential to impact the entire AI/AN population in the states covered by IHS Oklahoma City Area. The 43 federally recognized tribes in the Oklahoma City Area include: Absentee Shawnee, AlabamaQuassarte, Apache, Caddo, Cherokee, Cheyenne-Arapaho, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Citizen Potawatomi, Comanche, Delaware, Delaware Nation, Eastern Shawnee, Fort Sill Apache, Iowa, Kaw, Kialegee, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Miami, Modoc, Muscogee (Creek), Osage, Otoe-Missouria, Ottawa, Pawnee, Peoria, Ponca, Quapaw, Sac and Fox, Seminole, Seneca-Cayuga, Shawnee, Thlopthlocco, Tonkawa, United Keetoowah, Wichita & Affiliated tribes, and Wyandotte, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, Prairie Band Potawatomi and Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri, and Kickapoo Tribe of Texas.
In 2010,the US Census Bureau reported Oklahoma had 482,760 AI/AN population, Kansas had 59,130 AI/AN population, and Texas had 315,264 AI/AN population.
- Increased number of sub-awardees partners.
- Continued outreach to previously non-active member tribes.
The Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country grant was first awarded in 2015 and is a five-year project.
Southern Plains Tribal Health Board
Phone: (405) 652-9200
Fax: (405) 840-7052
Email: info@spthb.org
