American Indian Health Information: Challenges of Dissemination and Application
Recent advances in information technologies have improved the dissemination of and access to health information specific to American Indians. Yet, a significant portion of this work continues to be fugitive, especially for those located outside of traditional academic settings. Moreover, even when available, its form and content often frustrate translation into locally meaningful terms. This presentation highlights these challenges in the context of American Indian health. It illustrates how a community toolbox -- conceptualized and brought to life by tribal community members – conveyed lessons learned through the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, enabling Native people to understand, communicate, and apply complicated data and materials to preventing diabetes.
Dr. Manson has published 175 articles on the assessment, epidemiology, treatment, and prevention of physical, alcohol, drug, as well as mental health problems over the developmental life span of Native people. His numerous awards include the American Public Health Association’s prestigious Rema Lapouse Mental Health Epidemiology Award (1998), election to the Institute of Medicine (2002); 2 Distinguished Mentor Awards from the Gerontological Society of America (2006; 2007), the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Nickens Award (2006); the George Foster Award for Excellence from the Society for Medical Anthropology (2006); and National Institute of Health’s Health Disparities Award for Excellence (2008). Dr. Manson is widely acknowledged as one of the nation’s leading authorities in regard to Indian and Native health.
