Friday, January 24, 2025
1/24/2025
The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA) is a 501c3 non-profit Tribal organization in Phoenix, Arizona (AZ) that was established in 1952, to provide a united voice to Tribal governments in AZ. ITCA’s Board of Directors consists of the highest elected officials for 21 of the 22 Tribes in AZ. The ITCA Health and Human Services (HHS) Program supports Tribes in their efforts to improve the quality of life for their populations. We work within a supportive role to convene leadership to address state and federal matters and by providing training and technical assistance to the Tribes’ health and social services programs. The ITCA Tribal Epidemiology Center (TEC) serves Tribes and Bands across the Phoenix-Tucson Indian Health Service (IHS) Areas, which includes Tribes in Arizona (AZ), Nevada (NV), and Utah (UT) (2018 IHS Active Users total 205,115). ITCA TEC improves public health and epidemiologic capacity by assisting Tribes with health surveillance, research, and program evaluation for Tribes to utilize in planning and policy decisions in order to improve community health and wellness. Data from AZ, NV, and UT indicate that chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke are more prevalent, and often more deadly among American Indians (AI) at earlier ages compared to other race/ethnicity groups. According to the CDC’s National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017, AI diabetes prevalence rates were the highest (15.1%) among the Nation’s population. Moreover, the prevalence rates for diabetes among AI populations were as high as 22.2% in certain areas of the Southwest. A variety of data indicate that the prevalence of chronic conditions is higher among AI as compared to other groups living in AZ, NV, and UT. The overall purpose of the GHWIC project is to provide culturally-responsive, community-driven support that includes technical assistance, training and resources to prevent, manage, and control chronic diseases among Area Tribes/Villages/Urban Indian Organizations (T/V/Us) in the Phoenix-Tucson IHS Areas. ITCA intends to partner with up to 12 Subawardees in AZ, UT, and NV through a grant application process. The project will include partnerships with the state departments of health, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, Public Health Law Center, and the University of Arizona to provide resources to Tribal partners and T/V/Us. As a Component 2 (C2) applicant, ITCA plans to use more than 50% of the C2 award to provide Subawardees funding to implement Component 1 (C1) strategies over the 5 year grant time frame. In Years 1-2, Subawardees will use a National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) readiness assessment to determine their capacity to implement the NDPP. Utilizing the assessment tool, ITCA will identify areas of training and technical assistance (TTA) needed by Tribal partners. The ITCA will create a GHWIC Working Group to provide on-going TTA to partnering Tribes and Area T/V/Us throughout the 5 year time frame, and will initiate a Social Network Analysis to strengthen Tribal, state, and other health organizational partnerships during the grant cycle. In Years 2-5, Subawardees will develop and implement their work plan based on selected C1 strategies. ITCA will provide on-going TTA, specifically to Subawardees and Area T/V/Us on a range of culturally appropriate and holistic C1 strategies including evidence-based health programs and policy development. Subawardees will be provided on-going program evaluation support. Results and lessons learned will be disseminated to other Area T/V/U’s, CDC, and partners. These strategies and activities are linked to measureable short-term and intermediate outcomes that will lead to an increased number of Area T/V/U implementing a comprehensive and holistic approach to health and wellbeing that will help prevent chronic disease within their communities.
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).