University of Arizona Indigenous Health Programs
USDA Economic Research Service RIDGE Program
The American Indian Studies Program in collaboration with the Native Peoples Technical Assistance Office at the University of Arizona is one of five academic/research centers engaged in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service to support analyses of the unique issues and challenges faced by Native Americans with respect to loss of traditional life-ways, food assistance and commodity programs, and nutrition-related health issues.
Arizona Telemedicine Program
The Arizona Telemedicine Program is a large, multidisciplinary, university-based program that provides telemedicine services, distance learning, informatics training, and telemedicine technology assessment capabilities to communities throughout Arizona, the sixth largest state in the United States, in square miles. The program has succeeded in creating partnerships among a wide variety of not-for-profit and profit healthcare organizations, and has created new interagency relationships within the state government. Functioning as a "virtual corporation," the Arizona Telemedicine Program is creating new paradigms for healthcare delivery over the information superhighway. The program is recognized as one of the premier programs at the University of Arizona College Of Medicine, and has received numerous awards at the national level for its research and innovations.
Med-Start - Office of Minority Affairs
Med-Start is a program for high school students who have completed their junior year. Med-Start introduces high school students to career opportunities in the health professions and college life through an intensive five-week summer academic enrichment experience on The University of Arizona campus.
Native American Cancer Research Partnership at the Arizona Cancer Center
Our purpose is to equip the next generation of Native American researchers and health care professionals with the tools needed to bring about sustained improvement of health to Native American communities. We do this by working closely with Native American communities. All our programs are driven by community need/suggestion. Students graduating our program have entered medical schools, graduate research programs, and have begun research careers. We hope our website will provide students with information that will be helpful in planning careers in biomedical research or careers in health care professions. The links on the research pages will tell you more about what our students and researchers are doing. Please contact us at the link below for additional information.
Native American Research and Training Center
The Native American Research and Training Center (NARTC) is part of the Department of Family and Community Medicine within the College of Medicine. It serves as a national resource for health-related research and training for Native American communities and for persons providing services or other resources to Indian communities. The overall mission of NARTC is to assist Native American communities with community-based research projects, especially in the area of chronic diseases and disabilities. The over-all goal is to utilize information from research and training projects to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for Native Americans with chronic health problems and/or disabilities.
Office of Outreach and Multicultural Affairs
The Office of Minority Affairs at the Arizona Health Sciences Center has the dual mission of diversifying the health professions workforce through recruiting more individuals of ethnic minority background and raising awareness of all health care professionals about the importance of culture in health care. To carry out this mission, the Office provides information, encouragement, and various kinds of assistance for individuals of minority backgrounds or who are economically disadvantaged and who are preparing for a career in the health professions. Some of the services offered include early outreach and recruitment activities such as career day presentations, shadowing experiences, and interviewing skills workshops. Our staff work closely with the state's pre-health professions student organization, F.A.C.E.S. (Fostering and Achieving Cultural Equity and Sensitivity) in the Health Professions. There are chapters at each of the three state universities and various community colleges. F.A.C.E.S. seeks to increase the awareness of all pre-health professions students and interested others about the importance of considering cultural issues in providing health care and prevention programs. An annual statewide F.A.C.E.S. conference is held to focus on diversity issues in the health professions and health care system.
Indians into Medicine Program
INMED is funded by a grant from the Indian Health Service. Its purpose is to increase the number of American Indian students who enter the health professions. Given the shortages and under funding of the Indian Health Service and the significant health disparities in Indian communities, it is critical for young Indian students to become health professionals and go back and work in their communities. The program brings in Native American health care professionals who serve as role models and pairs students with mentors and organizes talking circles where students support each other.
Rural Health Office-Arizona Area Health Education Centers
Arizona Health Education Centers (AzAHEC) constitutes a complex, multidisciplinary effort in response to the problems of supply, distribution, and retention of health care providers/professionals in rural and medically under served communities of Arizona. The AzHEC's Healing Pathways Program is a multi-faceted minority student recruitment and retention program. It focuses on outreach, recruitment and retention of Native American, Hispanic, and other minority students in the fields of medicine, public health, and other health professions. A key element of the Healing Pathways Program is the Talking Medicine Circle, an informal Native American pre-med/pre-health professions gathering. The intent of the Talking Medicine Circle is the exchange of information between undergraduates, medical students/graduate students, community physicians, and faculty.
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