California Rural Indian Health Board Awarded $3.9 Million to Drive Down Chronic Diseases in California
New program addresses tobacco, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke in Indian Country
Today the California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) was awarded a grant of $3.9 million for the promotion of good health and wellness in tribal communities throughout California.
The Comprehensive Approach to Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country awards are part of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative to support public health efforts to reduce chronic diseases, promote healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities, and control health care spending. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will administer the grants, which will run for 5 years, subject to availability of funds.
Overall, HHS awarded $11.2 million in 22 grants to prevent heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and associated risk factors in American Indian tribes and Alaskan Native villages through a holistic approach to population health and wellness. Grantees will work to reduce commercial tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, improve nutrition and physical activity, increase support for breastfeeding, increase health literacy, and strengthen team-based care and links between community resources and clinical services.
Half of the awards will support tribes directly and the other half will support tribal organizations to provide leadership, technical assistance, training, and resources to tribes and villages in their Indian Health Service Administrative Areas. The program is financed by the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the Affordable Care Act.
“Tribal communities will have an opportunity to develop projects that will address their unique needs,” said Dr. Mark LeBeau, Executive Director. “We are proud to actively work with leaders to improve the health of American Indian communities and assist them in building organizational capacity.”
Specifically, the work that CRIHB will be doing includes awarding over $2.3 million to tribes for the implementation of activities addressing health and wellness needs in their communities. The funding will be used to empower American Indian communities in California to promote policies, systems and environmental change strategies focused on reducing tobacco use and exposure, promoting physical activity and health eating, and preventing chronic disease. All tribes in California will be eligible to receive assistance through this program. Requests for Proposal to participate in the program are anticipated to be released in December, 2014.
Compared with the general U.S. population, with some regional exceptions, American Indian and Alaskan Native people have higher rates of tobacco use, obesity, and physical inactivity and lower consumption of fruits and vegetables—important risk factors for chronic diseases.
To learn more about CRIHB’s prevention and wellness projects, visit www.CRIHB.org.