The Journal of Public Health Management and Practice has just released a special supplement on the role of Tribal Epidemiology Centers in reducing health disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Tribal Epidemiology Centers are Indian Health Service division-funded organizations that serve American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal and urban communities by managing public health information systems, investigating diseases of concern, managing disease prevention and control programs, responding to public health emergencies, and coordinating these activities with other public health authorities.

In 1996, amid growing concern about the lack of adequate public health surveillance and data for disease control for American Indian/Alaska Native populations, Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs) were established under the re-authorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA).

Click the image to learn more about the history of the Tribal Epi Centers

DID YOU KNOW?

For many American Indian/Alaska Native people, health is often thought of as a holistic concept, with health being comprised of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Many American Indian/Alaska Native tribes conceptualize this health in the form of a medicine wheel, or sacred hoop, to represent health and healing as well as the different aspects of life. It is thought that if any one aspect is not in balance or alignment with the others, the individual will become unhealthy.

*Source: Medicine Ways: Traditional Healers and Healing.

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Read More:

• Tribal Epidemiology Centers: Advancing Public Health in Indian Country for Over 20 Years
• The Role of Tribal Epidemiology Centers in Serving the Public Health Needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives
• CDC Partnerships With Tribal Epidemiology Centers to Improve the Health of American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
• Effect Modification of the Association Between Race and Stage at Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis by Socioeconomic Status
• Racial Misclassification in Mortality Records Among American Indians/Alaska Natives in Oklahoma From 1991 to 2015

• A Map of the 12 Tribal Epidemiology Centers in the US 
• 7 Facts You Need to Know about Tribal Epidemiology Centers
• The Role of Tribal Epidemiology Centers: Podcast with Vanesscia Cresci and Rosalina James
• Tribal Epidemiology Centers – Special Supplement
• Investigating Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer: Podcast with Drs. Sarah Nash and Diana Redwood