National Tribal Public Health Summit coming to Alaska

Sustaining tribal public health as a national priority is the theme of the 8th annual National Tribal Public Health Summit, set for June 7-8 in Anchorage.

Discussion topics range from methods of measuring the impact of climate change on the health and well being of American Indians and Alaska Natives, to a broad range of health issues, from substance abuse and suicide prevention to injury prevention.

Updates on the agenda, still a work in progress, are posted online at http://www.cvent.com/events/8th-annual-national-tribal-public-health-summit/agenda-534ba72c281144fe8b2a5c15613d2b92.aspx

A spokesman at the National Indian Health Board in Washington D.C. said upwards of 500 participants were expected.

The deadline to register as an exhibitor is May 30.

Discussion tracks posted include health promotion and disease prevention; public health policy, infrastructure and capacity; substance misuse and behavioral health; climate change and environmental health; and empowering youth wellness.

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Of particular interest to Alaska will be an afternoon session on June 7 related to climate change and environmental health.

The Alaska Institute for Justice and Alaska Native Science Commission are working with 15 Native communities to design a method to monitor and assess the ability of communities to adapt when relocation is required because of climate change.

By monitoring changes in the environment and the impact on community members, the hope is that tribal and local governments will be better able to find the best long-term adaptation strategies.

Presenters will include Robin Bronen, executive director of the Alaska Institute for Justice; Patricia Cochran, executive director of the Alaska Native Science Commission; Alexander Kholodov, who is engaged in permafrost research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute; and Denise Pollock, a research assistant for the Alaska Institute for Justice in the Native Village of Shishmaref.

Also on the June 7 agenda is a roundtable/workshop on the Indian Health Service Tribal Injury Prevention Cooperative Agreement Program. The session is to include discussion of efforts by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to develop an atlas regarding unintentional and intentional injuries statewide.

Presenters will include Capt. Nancy Bill, a consultant on injury prevention with the Indian Health Services; Jerrod Moore, coordinator of a tribal injury prevention program in Albuquerque, N.M.; and Hillary Strayer, a prevention specialist at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

Other discussion tracks scheduled during the two-day summit include traditional food initiatives, with a focus on food insecurity; collaboration across administrative boundaries for public health services; tribal syringe exchange programs; health implications of climate change; reducing infant mortality, addressing suicide, behavioral health and management of trauma in American Indian and Alaska Native communities; school gardens for healthy living; and tools for advancing tribal public health policies.

Registration is required for all sessions on June 7-8, while preconference sessions on June 6 are free to attend.

These include updates on Zika virus prevention, dental therapy, bridging cultural approaches into public health care and a listening session with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An opening reception on the evening of June 6 will include the 7th annual Special Diabetes Program for Indians poster session.

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