Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Category A: Tribal Health Departments - American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) peoples rank near the bottom of all Americans in health, education, and employment. The current average life expectancy of AI/AN people is estimated to be only 65.2 years, and AI/AN people are three times more likely to die from complications of diabetes and six times more likely to die from alcoholism than other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. These poor health outcomes are rooted in colonization and centuries of systematic oppression targeting Tribal communities. They are also the result of inefficient healthcare delivery, lack of insurance, the need to travel long distances for services, and mistrust in government care due to a history of inhumane practices. The U.S. government formally recognizes 574 Tribal Nations, comprised of approximately 2.6 million AI/AN Tribal members. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is the federal agency that delivers health services to members of federally recognized Tribal Nations. Despite the poor health outcomes experienced by AI/AN peoples, many Tribal Health Departments lack the funding, infrastructure, and workforce to deliver clinical care and public health services to their communities. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic decreased the overall governmental public health workforce, staff vacancies and insufficient staff capacity were the biggest impediment for providing timely care to Tribal communities. With an increasingly depleted workforce and AI/AN populations struggling with deepening health disparities, it is imperative that Tribal Health Departments have the capacity to effectively address the needs of their communities now and in future emergencies. To address this, ASPPH proposes the “Tribal Health Department Fellowship Program” project in response to CDC’s call to improve organizational and systems infrastructure and performance across the public health system to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequities. ASPPH is the voice of accredited academic public health, representing schools and programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Our mission is to advance academic public health by mobilizing the collective power of our members to drive excellence and innovation in education, research, and practice. ASPPH is uniquely positioned to provide capacity-building assistance (CBA) to the Tribal Health Department workforce to improve the overall performance of the public health system. ASPPH will provide CBA to Tribal Health Departments through developing and implementing a “Tribal Health Department Fellowship Program.” The “Tribal Health Department Fellowship Program” will place 24 postgraduate public health fellows from ASPPH-member institutions in various Tribal Health Departments across the country to implement department-identified projects and prepare fellows for a career in Tribal public health. ASPPH will also provide CBA to Tribal Health Department host sites through the provision of infrastructure and tailored trainings regarding best practices in workforce development. To ensure the program honors Tribal wisdom and approaches to public health, ASPPH will work in close collaboration with representatives from Tribal Health Departments, Tribal Health and Health Equity Subject Matter Experts, and ASPPH member organizations with close ties to Tribal Nations through all stages of program development and implementation. The CBA provided through “Tribal Health Department Fellowship Program” will directly improve Tribal Health Department organizational and systems capacity, capability, and effectiveness to improve the health outcomes of Tribal communities and decrease health inequities. The program will also enhance the pipeline from public health education and training to Tribal Health Departments in response to Healthy People 2030 PHI-R02: Expand pipeline programs that include service learning or experiential learning components in public health settings.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).