CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2023 — In an important effort to help tribal organizations address brain health across the life course, the Healthy Brain Initiative’s (HBI) Leadership Committee, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alzheimer’s Association, gathered on Nov. 3, 2023 to kick off the development of a new
Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) Road Map for Indian Country. The new publication will build upon momentum generated by the current HBI State and Local Road Map for Public Health and the first Road Map for Indian Country, which have prompted all states and many local health departments and tribal health organizations to take action to improve brain health in their communities.
The next edition of the HBI Road Map for Indian Country will continue to provide tribal leaders with strategies to help shape the public health response to Alzheimer's and dementia in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The 21-person leadership committee includes tribal leaders, physicians, experts and researchers in public health and across the care continuum.
At this meeting, the leadership committee determined that utilizing a strengths-based approach to support entire communities in addressing dementia and brain health is essential and must be embedded throughout the next HBI Road Map for Indian Country.
The committee discussed that the next HBI Road Map for Indian Country needed stronger integration of stories and graphics that resonate with diverse tribal communities and celebration of work already being done. The leadership committee is
seeking input from tribal organizations and the public at-large to provide input on elements of the new HBI Road Map for Indian Country until Jan. 19, 2024.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is proud to work with organizations and experts to develop our next HBI Road Map for Indian Country, which will help drive action and achieve better outcomes for tribal communities impacted by Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” said Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., MPH, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Alzheimer’s Association. “It is imperative to include a broad range of perspectives that consider the cultural strengths of Native people in order for the next HBI Road Map for Indian Country to resonate in all tribal communities.
The most recent
HBI Road Map for Indian Country (PDF) is a guide for American Indian and Alaska Native leaders to learn about dementia and start discussions throughout their communities. The leadership committee is excited to take this new Road Map to the next step of making change.
The Alzheimer’s disease continuum spans decades, providing opportunities for public health to change outcomes in communities across the nation. Just as with other chronic and degenerative conditions, public health efforts can reduce risk, expand early detection and diagnosis, improve safety and quality of care for people living with cognitive impairment, and attend to caregivers’ health and well-being.
The leadership committee members are:
- Lisa C. McGuire, Ph.D., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., MPH, Alzheimer's Association
- Abigail Echo-Hawk, M.A., (Pawnee) Seattle Indian Health Board
- Bill Benson, International Association of Indigenous Aging
- Billie Tohee (Otoe-Missouria), National Indian Council on Aging
- Bruce Finke, M.D., Indian Health Service
- Catherine Carrico, Ph.D., University of Wyoming Center on Aging
- Chandra Wilson, MSW, (Modoc/Klamath/Yahooskin) Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
- Collette Adamsen, Ph.D., MPA, (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) University of North Dakota
- Cynthia LaCounte (Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa), Administration for Community Living
- Jessica Lewandowski, MBA, (Cherokee Nation) Cherokee Nation Health Services
- J. Neil Henderson, Ph.D., (Choctaw) University of Minnesota Medical School, Professor Emeritus
- Jordan P. Lewis, Ph.D., MSW, (Aleut, Native Village of Naknek) University of Minnesota
- Julianna Reece, M.D., MPH, MBA, (Dine'/Navajo) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- R. Kim Hartwig, M.D., (Nez Perce/Dine'/Cowichan) Nimiipuu Health
- LaRita Laktonen-Ward, MPH, (Alutiiq) Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
- Ronny Bell, Ph.D., M.S., (Lumbee) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Ryan Eagle (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation), American Indian Public Health Resource Center
- R. Turner Goins, Ph.D., Western Carolina University
- Twila Martin Kekahbah, M.Ed, (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa)
- Will Funmaker, MBA, MLT (ASCP)CM, (Ho-Chunk Nation) Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center
Learn more and provide input at
alz.org/PublicHealthIndianCountry.
The Healthy Brain Initiative and the development and dissemination of the HBI Road Map Series is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $11,433,732 with 100% funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
About the Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.
About the Healthy Brain Initiative
The Healthy Brain Initiative improves understanding of brain health as a central part of public health practice. The initiative creates and supports partnerships, collects and reports data, increases awareness of brain health, supports populations with a high burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and promotes the use of its Road Map series. The HBI Road Map series provides actionable steps to promote brain health, address cognitive impairment, and meet the needs of caregivers.