Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center, Epidemiology and Disease Prevention Program - The Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center (GPTEC), part of the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (GPTLHB), proposes a five-year project under HHS-2026-IHS-EPI-0001 to strengthen public health capacity and improve health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native people in the IHS Great Plains Area. GPTEC serves 17 federally recognized Tribes, one Indian Service Unit, and two Urban Indian Organizations across South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The project will address persistent health disparities, limited access to timely, Tribally relevant data, uneven surveillance capacity, workforce needs, and gaps in prevention, education, technical assistance, and health promotion. Through a collaborative, data-informed, and Tribally centered approach, GPTEC will implement the seven core functions of the Tribal Epidemiology Center: collect, analyze, and report health data; monitor progress toward Tribal and IHS health objectives; evaluate health care delivery and data systems; identify priority health needs and services; recommend improvements to service targeting and delivery; provide technical assistance; and strengthen disease surveillance and health promotion. Key activities will include community health assessments, dashboards, community health improvement plans, epidemiologic reports, feasibility assessments, written recommendations, and GPRA-related performance tracking. GPTEC will also expand Winter Count EDSS and related surveillance support, develop reportable disease models, strengthen alert systems, support Tribal Disease Intervention Specialist functions, and provide workforce development, training, consultation, and technical assistance aligned with Tribal and Urban Indian priorities. Supplemental efforts will support cancer survivorship leadership training, elder health and dementia care systems, dementia training and technical assistance, and Tribally grounded behavioral health communication. Expected outcomes include improved access to timely, accurate, and Tribally relevant public health data; stronger surveillance and response capacity; clearer identification of service gaps and health priorities; increased partner capacity to use data for planning and decision-making; strengthened workforce knowledge and skills; and improved regional coordination among GPTEC, Tribes, Urban Indian Organizations, IHS, and public health partners. GPTEC will evaluate implementation and outcomes using a Tribally grounded framework that encompasses process and outcome measures, GPRA-related indicators, technical assistance tracking, training evaluations, stakeholder feedback, dashboards, reports, and continuous quality improvement. Findings will be shared with Tribal and Urban Indian partners, advisory groups, IHS, and other stakeholders in accessible formats. With established Tribal partnerships, experienced staff, and robust evaluation and informatics infrastructure, GPTEC is well-positioned to achieve measurable, sustainable improvements in public health systems and health outcomes across the Great Plains Area.
