Changes in Health Indicators of Communities with Alaska Native and Local Food Promotion Initiatives

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: This evaluation was designed to explore Alaska Native people’s beliefs about what makes a “healthy community” and what clinical health measures may have been influenced by SEARHC’s Traditional Foods grants.

Methods:

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) provides primary care clinics and hospital services to communities across the southeast Alaska region; an area roughly the size of Florida. SEARHC is the main service provider for Indian Health Service and Alaska Native people in the region. Bio-metric data from our electronic health records were examined alongside qualitative data collected at focus groups and surveys. Communities with local food promotion initiatives were compared to communities of similar size and geographic location without initiatives. Questions about what makes a healthy community were explored.

Results:

The data suggests that improvements in health measures in SEARHC communities from 2001 to 2015 include: increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased tobacco-use interventions by providers. Self-reporting of diabetes mellitus remained stable between 2011 and 2014. Improvements in communities with initiatives not seen in comparison communities include

• Increase in HDL cholesterol in males
• Decrease in intimate partner violence for men
• Decrease in diastolic blood pressure in females

Conclusions:

Clinical health measures may not be what are most important. Health lies beyond many of these measures.

Is perceived community strength and resiliency a better measure of “health?” It has taken a generation to lose traditional knowledge and culture. It may take another generation to gain back that strength.

Implications for research and/or practice:

The strong message heard from respondents is the importance of consulting, engaging, and empowering local communities and the lack of sufficient community engagement and involvement may be a handicap in tackling health concerns.

Program planners and funding agencies are listening more and designing and funding programs that directly respond to the needs expressed by community members. Local communities have emerged as critical players in the response to primary prevention, growing a can-do attitude through the implementation of local mini-grants that address issues identified locally. People want to be empowered to re-learn traditional knowledge and meld it with imported ideas to create programs that are more sustainable and pertinent to the lives of younger generations.