NAS - Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth: Workshop SummaryRoundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities, National Academy of Sciences, Health and Medicine Division, July 8, 2016 More than 2 million Americans below age 24 self-identify as being of American Indian or Alaska Native descent. Many of the serious behavioral, emotional, and physical health concerns facing young people today are especially prevalent with Native youth (e.g., depression, violence, and substance abuse). Arrayed against these health problems are vital cultural strengths on which Native Americans can draw. At a workshop held in 2012 by the Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, presenters described many of these strengths, including community traditions and beliefs, social support networks, close-knit families, and individual resilience. On May 6, 2014, the roundtable held a follow-up workshop titled Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth. The overall goal of the roundtable is to convene leaders from academia, health care, government, industry, professional organizations, communities, and other sectors to discuss issues related to (1) the visibility of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care as a national problem, (2) the development of programs and strategies by and for Native and Indigenous communities to reduce disparities and build resilience, and (3) the emergence of supporting Native expertise and leadership. This publication includes discussions from the workshop.
What’s Killing Our Children? Child and Infant Mortality among American Indians and Alaska NativesTeshia G. Arambula Solomon, PhD, Felina M. Cordova, MPH, Francisco Garcia, MD, MPH, March 7, 2017. An individually-authored National Academy of Medicine Perspective (discussion paper). Perspectives have not been subjected to the review procedures of, nor are they reports of, the NAM or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.