Develop appropriate public health software systems for the Gila River Indian Community Tribal Health Department. - The Gila River Indian Community’s Tribal Health Department (THD) strives to protect the health and well-being of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh members by providing high-quality public health service through prevention, awareness, education, innovation, and advocacy. The Health Department envisions a strong healthy Community through the empowerment of Community members and the utilization of resources. The THD provides various public health services which include Animal Control and Veterinarian services, Community Health Education and Nutrition, Disease Surveillance, Environmental Health, Injury Prevention, and diabetes prevention targeted to youth population through the Genesis program. With this grant, the department will focus its efforts to enhance the departments’ public health infrastructure for GRIC through the increased use of tools, systems and processes that build operational capacity and effectiveness. It is the goal of the department to improve health data collection and interpretation, and maintain electronic information systems for public health planning and implementation of culturally appropriate strategies for the community. The department will implement policies and plans for information management that support the health department's mission and workforce by providing infrastructure for data storage, protection, management, and data analysis. The implementation of such policies and plans will lead to improved tribal health data collection, maintenance, interpretation, and dissemination of findings to the Community. As well, the department staff will have improved capacity to deliver the essential public health services to augment population health. More importantly, through this effort, the department will have the capacity to adequately evaluate public health programs and services to address and prioritize health activities and health concerns specific to GRIC. The public health sectors for GRIC will also ultimately increase their use of established standards. Once these outcomes are achieved, the department and other public health entities will be able to institute culturally appropriate, practice- and evidence-based programs and policies that are effective and sustainable throughout GRIC to decrease the high incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other health-related concerns for GRIC.
