wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Unhealthy prognosis

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Note #8257 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04263
June 3, 2004

Unhealthy prognosis

Study identifies health risks and barriers facing Native Americans

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Health risks are greater, access to health care is more
difficult and the rate of diabetes, injuries and respiratory infections are
as much as three times higher among Native Americans than the general U.S.
population.

That's according to the first phase of a comprehensive study being compiled
to identify factors influencing the health of Native American Presbyterians.

	Once completed, the study will form the basis of a new health
ministry model for Native American congregations in the Presbyterian Church
(USA). The study is being conducted by the denomination's Office of Health
Ministries USA, part of the PC(USA)'s National Ministries Division.

	"Our challenge in creating the model was first to develop a
comprehensive picture of the health risks and care accessibility issues and
now is to design, out of our faith tradition, a holistic model that respects
and integrates Native American culture and tradition as these health issues
are addressed," said Patricia K. Gleich, associate for Health Ministries USA.

	The study uses information collected through focus groups conducted
with members of the PC(USA)'s Native American Consulting Committee, the
Presbyterian Women of the Dakota Presbytery and from key leaders of Native
American congregations throughout the denomination.

	Additional data on health risks and disparities were collected using
records of the Indian Health Service, the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention and from the Strong Heart Study funded by the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health
in Bethesda, MD.

	The Health Ministry Model for Native American Congregations will
combine Native American healing culture and tradition with health education
focusing on prevention and wellness.

	"It is our hope that this health ministry model can be useful for
Native American congregations and the wider church," Gleich said.
"Incorporating a process of validation and healing, moving toward a wholeness
that is both equal to and greater than physical health and well-being."

	Major health concerns identified so far:

	*Cardiovascular disease (CVD), rare among Native Americans and Alaska
Natives just two generations ago, is now the leading cause of death for these
groups. Hypertension, compounding the risk for CVD, is also increasing.

	*Meanwhile, suicide continues to be the second leading cause of death
among 15-to-24-year-old Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Automobile
accidents are the leading cause of death for Native American children ages
1-9.

	*Approximately 15.3 percent of Native Americans have diabetes,
compared with 7.3 percent of all U.S. adults. As many as 50 percent of adults
in some tribes have diabetes.

	*Bronchiolitis, an infection of the small airways leading to the
lungs, accounts for more than twice as many outpatient visits and nearly 60
percent more hospitalizations among Native American children compared to the
general U.S. average. Rates highest in Alaska and the southwest.

	*HIV/AIDS is increasing in Native American Communities. In 2002, the
AIDS diagnosis rate for Native American and Alaska Native adolescents and
adults was 1.6 times higher than for non-Hispanic whites.

	*Native American and Alaska Natives experience a death rate from AIDS
1.3 times that of whites. The death rate from AIDS was 4.9 per 100,000 Native
Americans and 3.32 for whites.

	*Native Americans have a particularly high incidence of gallbladder
disease. By the age of 60, Native American women have a 75 percent chance of
developing gallbladder disease.

	Focus group participants cited a variety of barriers to care as being
major issues contributing to illness and at times death. The groups found
that most areas on reservations are medically underserved, resulting in:

	*Few emergency services, ambulances and life support equipment.

	*Long distances to hospital emergency room care and services.

	*Inadequate and inconsistent service provided through Indian Health
Services (IHS), the federal health program for Native Americans and Alaska
Natives.

	*Eligibility for IHS care is often non-transferable from one
geographic location to another.

	*Lack of prevention education and few disease prevention programs
exist in communities.

	*Lack of understanding and disrespect for Native American culture by
non-native
service providers.

	*Lack of health education programs geared toward youth.

	*A sense of despair that is frequently undergirded by internalized
oppression and
unresolved grief - the vestiges of which may be rooted in the practices of
colonialism.

	The Office of Health Ministries USA provides ministry models, program
resources, health awareness information, research, training and preparation
to support individual Presbyterians, congregations and governing bodies in
mission focused health ministry. For more information about the Office of
Health Ministries USA, log onto: www.pcusa.org/health/usa.

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