Public Health Training Certificate for American Indian Health Professionals

The overarching purpose of this public health certificate program is to promote participants’ capacity to address American Indian population health disparities through multidisciplinary public health approaches and culturally competent strategies. The certificate program examines four quadrants of influence: physical, behavioral, political, and spiritual/emotional, which, in balance, comprise the sphere of public health for American Indian communities.

Educational Objectives

Environmental, Cultural, and Political Context

Students completing the certificate program will be able to:

1. Discuss how tribal sovereignty status impacts health policy and management
2. Understand the potential interface of tribal, federal, and private sectors in health system development
3. Discuss and provide examples of inter-relationships between the environment and the public’s health
4. Describe the unique impact of mental, social, and emotional health status on tribal community well-being
5. Describe the components of effective community education and health communication campaigns
6. Understand factors affecting early child development unique to tribal communities

Public Health Research Skills

Those completing the certificate will be able to employ public health theory and logic frameworks and apply basic statistical, demographic, and epidemiologic techniques to:

1. Critique published public health research
2. Identify available disease, behavioral, and mental health surveillance data from American Indian communities
3. Identify how community based participatory research can be used to promote American Indian health
4. Understand how to identify health priority needs utilizing community based participatory research methods and to evaluate intervention impacts using health surveillance data from American Indian communities
5. Work with epidemiologists and other researchers to design community based interventions and other data collection efforts appropriate for American Indian communities
6. Recognize good data management practices
7. Understand the importance of research ethics and the composition and function of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), with specific emphasis on IRB’s role in tribal environments

Please visit our Academic Catalogue to see the full certificate curriculum requirements. Please also review the certificate completion requirements.