Cherokee Nation Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plan FY2021 - Cherokee Nation Public Health (CNPH) is submitting for Closing the Gap with Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans. Cherokee Nation (CN) is the federally recognized government of the Cherokee citizens and has sovereign status granted by treaty and law. CN is the largest federally recognized Native American tribe with approximately 392,294 registered tribal citizens. CN has a higher burden of risk factors for chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as disproportionate rates of poverty and income.^1-2 A focus on SDOH is a priority by CN executive leadership and community partners. The purpose of this project is to create and share a SDOH Accelerator Plan for tribal governments. Tribal governments are unique in that they have social services, health services, education services, housing, and infrastructure services under one agency. CN will create a SDOH Accelerator Plan that will improve internal coordination, foster an understanding of collective well-being, and support community-generated projects that influence the SDOH. The project will work to achieve the following expected outcomes: Increased collaboration and engagement across CN internal programs and external multisectoral partnerships to improve community well-being and quality of life Completion of an implementation-ready SDOH Accelerator Plan for CN that includes all the required components. A SDOH Accelerator model for other tribal governments CNPH will implement strategies selected from the NOFO’s logic model and will collaborate with current CDC-funded projects to leverage the work of each to build a stronger community. CNPH will align the project with services both internal and external to CN. Formal community coalitions across the Reservation will participate in developing the SDOH Accelerator Plan. The coalitions have representation from all community sectors and have a history of success in working with CN. CDC/ATSDR vulnerability indices from 2018 were coordinated to each census tract on the Reservation. Vulnerability indices supplemented by additional sources, including 2020 Census data, help determine target locations for implementation. An existing CN cross-collaborative team will recruit additional members from multiple sectors. This team will determine current CN infrastructure capacity and discover ways to direct citizens to services to improve wellbeing. The CN leadership team will utilize Cherokee community coalitions to improve community health status and connectedness. Cultural connectivity and engagement in traditional activities has shown to increase community resilience, particularly among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN). The proposed activities aim to increase the resilience of Cherokee communities. The project will develop a SDOH Accelerator Plan that meets all CDC requirements that will be submitted 30 days prior to the end of the project period. The CN SDOH Accelerator Plan priority areas will use the built environment and social connectedness. CN will share the finalized CN SDOH Accelerator Plan with other tribal governments and provide technical assistance as requested and feasible. 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health. BRFSS Prevalence & Trends Data [online]. 2019. [accessed May 13, 2021]. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence/. 2. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. SAIPE (census.gov)
