The mission statement of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) is: "Working together for wellness with American Indian and Alaska Native communities."

ISSUE

The mission of the Indian Health Service (IHS) is to elevate the health status of American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) to the highest possible level. Despite concerted and sustained efforts by IHS and Tribal programs, substantial disparities in health persist for AI/AN compared to the US overall population.

Following the establishment of IHS in 1955, remarkable improvements in the health status of AI/AN occurred in selected areas of health. The most notable gains were reductions in morbidity and mortality through improved clinical management and public health control of infectious diseases. However, in recent decades the relative burden of disease for AI/AN has shifted away from conditions amenable to traditional public health intervention, such as vaccine preventable diseases, toward the so-called "modern diseases" that result largely from lifestyles, such as heart disease, diabetes, and injuries. Underlying this epidemiological transition are disparities for AI/AN in income level and education. Despite the greater health care needs of AI/AN due to higher rates of health problems, the per capita funding for health services for AI/AN is far less than for other populations in the United States.

IHS and Tribal leaders are increasingly aware that the only realistic solution for gains in health status is increased attention to health promotion and disease prevention. To this end, IHS Director Charles W. Grim, Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Masters of Health Services Administration (MHSA), established a Prevention Initiative to bring more focus on preventive health within IHS and among Tribally operated programs. Dr. Grim commissioned an IHS Prevention Task Force with broad representation from IHS and Tribal programs, and charged this group with identifying the key components for a coordinated and systematic approach to preventive health activities at all levels of health care for AI/AN. This group receives guidance from an Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) Policy Advisory Committee that contains broad Tribal and federal representation. The work of the IHS Prevention Task Force is fully integrated with past and on-going health initiatives within HHS, such as Healthy People 2010 and more recently the Secretary's Steps to a HealthierUS. The programmatic focus areas of the Prevention Initiative are also entirely consistent with the priorities of the IHS Strategic Plan and performance measures identified in the Congressionally directed Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) reporting system.