Northwest Tribal Injury Prevention Program - The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) has successfully implemented the Tribal Injury Prevention Cooperative Agreement Program (TIPCAP) for many years, supporting Tribal communities in reducing injuries and strengthening public health capacity. In this funding cycle, NPAIHB proposes to expand its culturally tailored training, injury surveillance, and prevention initiatives to include pedestrian safety, drowning prevention, and workplace violence de-escalation—topics identified as priorities by Northwest Tribes. In years 1-2, the TIPCAP team will partner with the Lummi Nation, based in Washington state, to develop a new qualitative and quantitative pedestrian risk assessment tool. This tool will be tested and refined with community and coalition feedback and then shared regionally to help Tribes assess and address pedestrian injury risks. NPAIHB has also implemented Fisherman First Aid and Safety Trainings (FFAST) for Tribal fishers across the region. In response to Tribal requests, the team will adapt FFAST into a Canoe Journey Safety curriculum, incorporating water safety skills with cultural protocols to ensure participants are prepared for annual Canoe Journeys. Both trainings will be offered annually at the Tribal Public Health and Emergency Preparedness Conference, creating a sustainable platform for knowledge exchange and regional capacity-building. In years 3–5, NPAIHB will expand pedestrian safety assessments to additional Tribal communities, support Tribes in pursuing funding to improve pedestrian infrastructure, and broaden drowning prevention activities beyond Canoe Journey Safety. Planned efforts include Personal Flotation Device (PFD) distribution, water safety campaigns, and collaboration with new partners to strengthen regional water safety networks. Responding to requests from Tribal clinics, NPAIHB will also develop a workplace violence prevention and de-escalation curriculum based on OSHA and Joint Commission standards. This training will be culturally adapted for Tribal health settings to promote safer workplaces and improve staff wellbeing. Evaluation will follow a mixed-methods framework to monitor implementation, measure outcomes, and guide continuous program improvement. Data sources will include pre- and post-training assessments, staff training logs, and documentation of tools and curricula developed. Systems such as ESSENCE and state crash datasets will be used to track injury patterns over time. Findings will be reviewed with Tribal partners to ensure that activities remain effective, relevant, and Tribally-led. This project will directly benefit Tribal communities by strengthening local capacity to collect and act on injury data, improve community preparedness, and enhance the skills of Tribal staff and public health professionals. By housing TIPCAP within the NPAIHB’s Environmental Public Health (EPH) Program, which provides direct technical assistance to Northwest Tribes, NPAIHB will ensure the project’s sustainability beyond the grant period. Tools, curricula, and partnerships developed under this project will continue to support Tribal communities’ safety and injury prevention long after funding concludes.
