UNC Healthy Solutions Team

UNC Healthy Solutions’ work addressing injuries in American Indian/Alaskan Native communities

The UNC Healthy Solutions team has provided capacity-building support to projects seeking to change the health of populations by preventing injury, violence, and chronic disease. The team translates evidence-based methods for communities and tribes. Team members conducted 25 projects for Indian Health Services (IHS), Tribes, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1997 to 2015 to address the burden of injuries faced by American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) people and support projects focusing on child and youth health. During these projects, they conducted on-site travel to 123 Tribes and tribal organizations across the 12 IHS Areas.

This is a 12-month advanced learning experience for individuals promoting injury prevention in American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Learn more about how to apply for the Epidemiology Fellowship program by visiting the IHS Epidemiology Fellowship Program webpage https://www.ihs.gov/injuryprevention/training/fellowshipprogram/

The UNC Healthy Solutions team in the Department of Health Behavior (DHB) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill currently provides Academic Adviser Services to the IHS IPP. The project includes three primary project activities: 1) Injury Prevention Fellowship; 2) Course Curriculum Design and Evaluation, and 3) Consultation to IHS IPP Manager. The IPRC, along with 22 identified AI/AN health and injury and violence prevention experts, support the UNC Healthy Solutions team in implementing various aspects of the project.

As part of training and technical assistance services provided to American Indian & Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes and Tribal Organizations conducting community-based injury prevention from 1997 to 2015, UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Health Behavior faculty and staff (Dr. Carolyn E. Crump and Mr. Robert J. Letourneau, MPH) have developed a variety of tools and resources for injury prevention practitioners planning, implementing, and evaluating injury prevention program activities, particularly those focused on reducing motor vehicle crash injury.

The resources below have been developed by Dr. Crump and Mr. Letourneau, part of the UNC Healthy Solutions Team, for projects funded by several entities:

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: Tribal Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention Program (TMVIPP)
Indian Health Service: Tribal Injury Prevention Cooperative Agreements Program (TIPCAP); Ride Safe Program; and Child & Youth Program.
AI/AN Tribes and Tribal organizations: Ho-Chunk Nation, Tohono O’odham Nation, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and San Carlos Apache Tribe.

Resource list:

UNC-IHS Observational Seatbelt Use Survey Protocol (updated March 2011)
Ride Safe-Adapted Child Safety Seat Observation Survey Guide (February 2012)
Traffic Safety Intervention Event Summary Templates (n=4)
Sample Traffic Safety Formative Evaluation Surveys (n=3)

For questions about these resources, please contact Robert J. Letourneau at 919-966-3920 or robert_letourneau@unc.edu.

UNC Healthy Solutions’ work addressing injuries in American Indian/Alaskan Native communities

IHS Injury Prevention Fellowship Program

Academic Adviser Services

Prior Work

Tribal Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention Resources