On Tuesday January 24, 2017 the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Minority Health (OMH) will be hosting a free webinar on its recently released guidance document Collection of Race and Ethnicity Data in Clinical Trials.
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the United States Department of Health and Human Services announces the availability of Fiscal Year 2017 grant funds for the American Indian/Alaska Native Health Equity Initiative (AI/AN Health Equity Initiative). The purpose of the AI/AN Health Equity Initiative is to support tailoring or developing, and implementing, of evidence-based models and/or promising practices to help address trauma (historical and generational) existing in AI/AN communities through innovative programs.
Estimated Funding Level: $2 million per budget period
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On January 10, 2017, this report was posted online as a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Early Release.
Ann Bullock, MD1; Nilka Ríos Burrows, MPH2; Andrew S. Narva, MD3; Karen Sheff, MS1; Israel Hora, MS2; Akaki Lekiachvili, MD4; Hannah Cain5; David Espey, MD4
Background: American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have the highest diabetes prevalence among any racial/ethnic group in the United States. Among AI/AN, diabetes accounts for 69% of new cases of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), defined as kidney failure treated with dialysis or transplantation. During 1982-1996, diabetes-related ESRD (ESRD-D) in AI/AN increased substantially and disproportionately compared with other racial/ethnic groups.
Methods: Data from the U.S. Renal Data System, the Indian Health Service (IHS), the National Health Interview Survey, and the U.S. Census were used to calculate ESRD-D incidence rates by race/ethnicity among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years during 1996-2013 and in the diabetic population during 2006-2013. Rates were age-adjusted based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. IHS clinical data from the Diabetes Cares and Outcomes Audit were analyzed for diabetes management measures in AI/AN.
Results: Among AI/AN adults, age-adjusted ESRD-D rates per 100,000 population decreased 54%, from 57.3 in 1996 to 26.5 in 2013. Although rates for adults in other racial/ethnic groups also decreased during this period, AI/AN had the steepest decline. Among AI/AN with diabetes, ESRD-D incidence decreased during 2006-2013 and, by 2013, was the same as that for whites. Measures related to the assessment and treatment of ESRD-D risk factors also showed more improvement during this period in AI/AN than in the general population.
Conclusion and implications for public health practice: Despite well-documented health and socioeconomic disparities among AI/AN, ESRD-D incidence rates among this population have decreased substantially since 1996. This decline followed implementation by the IHS of public health and population management approaches to diabetes accompanied by improvements in clinical care beginning in the mid-1980s. These approaches might be a useful model for diabetes management in other health care systems, especially those serving populations at high risk.
SAMHSA recently announced a new cohort of Tribal Behavioral Health Grant program awards this year. The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce suicidal behavior and substance use, reduce the impact of trauma, and promote mental health among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) young people up to and including age 24.
Questions about this grant announcement should be addressed directly to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The College of Menominee Nation is a tribal college in northeast Wisconsin that serves the Menominee Nation and its surrounding communities. The college, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Menominee Indian School District, Menominee Tribal School, and Woodland Boys & Girls Club, is working collaboratively on the Menominee Youth Empowerment Program (MYEP) grant, which is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. The webinar will focus on the ways in which MYEP has worked towards reducing disparities by addressing unhealthy behaviors in at-risk minority youth ages 11 to 14. The webinar will highlight how data was used extensively as a lever to improve the program and tailor it to improve health outcomes in children, the result of evaluations and interviews with students, and the successes and challenges the program has faced.