Smoking negatively impacts our Native communities throughout Alaska, but few know it as well as our people living in the North Slope region. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the North Slope; one in four diagnosed cancers is lung cancer. To combat the repercussions of smoking, North Slope Borough has partnered with ANTHC and the Alaska Quit Line to let our Native community know that resources to quit are available. Titled “I Never Thought It Could Happen to ...

The ANTHC Diabetes Program has new office space on the first floor of Healthy Communities Building and is using its central location to celebrate the traditional subsistence activities that help keep our people healthy. Visitors to the lobby of the Healthy Communities Building will see new murals with the theme, “Hunt, Fish, Gather, Grow,” which have been featured in other Diabetes Program materials as a way to show how traditional foods contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The colorful artwork is ...

The ANTHC Tobacco Prevention Program is working with our Tribal health partners to offer online tobacco treatment specialist (TTS) training. Three participants from each Tribal health region are invited to take the online course beginning January 11 and ending March 22. The Tobacco Prevention Program first tested the training this spring on the Alaska Native Health Campus with ANMC providers and other partners. This second pilot course will help inform course improvements before going live for other participants later in ...

Tobacco and drug use among Alaska Native people have been on the decline for many years, but there continue to be challenges to motivate people to quit and remain nonusers. To promote a unified message that celebrates the healthy choices that our people make every day, ANTHC recently launched the “We Are” media campaign, targeting Alaska Native and Native American people aged 11 to 25. The campaign is based on social norms theory, which shows much of people’s behavior is ...

Each November, the American Diabetes Association observes American Diabetes Month as an opportunity to bring attention to the disease and its impact on millions of Americans. Diabetes affects the health of our Alaska Native people at a greater rate than the general population. The ANTHC Diabetes program works to reduce the instances of diabetes and health complications from the disease among Alaska Native people. Diabetes program staff are a multidisciplinary team of diabetes experts who work in partnership with the ...

ANTHC’s programs are constantly collaborating and partnering with local organizations in improving the wellness of Alaskans statewide. Recently, ANTHC Diabetes Program Community Educator and Dietician Luz Smeenk partnered with Camp Fire Alaska’s Rural Program to develop a wellness curriculum for Alaska’s rural youth. Over the last several years, Camp Fire worked to develop a wellness curriculum that is holistic, youth centered, and culturally relevant for Alaska’s rural communities. Through a close partnership, Smeenk and Camp Fire took great strides to ...