Public Health Survey Case Study

Team A Public Health Survey
Population: Native Alaskans I. Introduction- Alice Native Alaskans living in Toksook Bay, Alaska (located 115 miles west of Bethel, Alaska) lack access to health care. This population of 532 is particularly vulnerable to problems getting needed health care because of a high poverty rate, high incidence of chronic conditions, and inability to obtain preventive care. a. Insurance coverage
Native Alaskans rely on Medicaid or other public program such as the U.S. government treaties provision for health care (Indian Health Service) which lacks appropriate funding. b. Profile of Native Alaskans i. 1/3 Native Alaskans live below the federal poverty level ii. 22% live in
families with no employment iii. 47% work in low income jobs (less than $25,000/year) iv. 18% have not completed high school c. Health Status v. 1 in 5 have two or more chronic conditions vi.
Prevalence of diabetes is twice that of any ethnic group in the US vii. High rate of obesity viii. High incidence of depression/anxiety ix. ½ Native Alaskans are smokers x. 1 in 5 are binge drinkers xi. Top 5 leading causes of death include cancer, chronic liver disease, unintentional injuries (alcohol-related MVA, suicide, chronic liver disease), diabetes and heart problems II. Sources of data the community uses to assess targeted determinants of health in support of these activities – Alice d. Alaskan Native Tribal Health Consortium formally Indian Health Service xii. Restricted to services provided by clinics or hospitals on reservations xiii. Does not allow access to most doctors and hospitals xiv. Mostly primary care with some ancillary & specialty services e. Yukon-Kushokwim Health Corporation xv. Alaskan Native Medical Center , Anchorage Alaska (527 miles) xvi. Comprehensive health care delivery to 58 rural communities xvii. Include hospital, clinics, dental, mental health, substance abuse counseling & treatment, health promotion & disease prevention, environmental health
services f. Tooksook Sub-regional Clinic
Operates 168 hours per week
3 community Health Aid practitioners
Mental health, dental, substance abuse services, laboratory & ultrasound g. Community Health Aids & Practitioners under remote physician supervision h. Alaska VA health care system, Ankorage, Alaska III. Data collection standards used to determine population health concerns of community i. Disease definition j. Specific populations k. Defined time periods IV. Data sources used to determine the focus of health care in the community-Jared l. Individual or whole population m. Implications for targeted populations V. Accurate data sources that support the community focus on topics identified VI. References n. A Profile of American Indians and Alaska Natives and Their Health Coverage. (2009). Retrieved from http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/7977.pdf o. National health statistic report. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr020.pdf p. Yukon-Kushokwim Health Corporation. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ykhc.org/about-ykhc/ q. VII. Conclusion