While many of the leading health indicators (LHI) in the Healthy Alaskans 2020 have made progress, the following four made significant improvement for both population groupings of All Alaskans and Alaska Native peoples. These improvements come from the hard work of various health and wellness partners across the state who implemented evidence based strategies for each issue. The recommended strategies were created using teams of experts and County Health Rankings to ensure they are the best practices for Alaska specifically ...

In Alaska, substance use, misuse and overdose prevention are important health issues that affect the health of Alaska Native individuals, families and communities. While no single solution will work for everyone, there is a collective public health approach that cares for people in a compassionate way: Harm reduction. Harm reduction is a compassionate approach to substance use that values people and how we care for each other. This approach is a collection of policy, prevention and health care practices that ...

Over the past two years, the Alaska Perinatal Quality Collaborative (AKPQC) partnered with the national Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Program to implement best practices to improve the outcomes for pregnant Alaskans with high blood pressure. The AKPQC recently reported the collaborative has helped to lead a 28% reduction in severe complications associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy. High blood pressure during pregnancy is on the rise in Alaska, with high blood pressure disorders contributing to two out of the six pregnancy-related ...

ANTHC’s work in promoting healthy homes and communities involves many aspects of public health infrastructure that support the health of our people. Our Environmental Health and Engineering work began with health prevention through access to water and sewer, and has evolved to understand the complete needs for community wellness. This progress with our community partners has adapted over the years to include a new approach to project planning. ANTHC, along with funding and agency partners, is in development of a ...

Chevak is a growing community of 1,200 people located along the west coast of Alaska, and has been a valued member of ANTHC’s Alaska Rural Utilities Collaborative (ARUC) program since its inception in 2008. Since 2013, Chevak utility customers have seen a 50 percent decrease in their water and wastewater utility fees. Due to the community’s continued growth, a new position was recently added to the water utility team to sustain the cost savings for the whole community. In May ...

Chew on this: A new study released by the University of Washington shows that children in our Alaska Native communities who are served frequently by Dental Health Aide Therapists (ADTEPs) had lower rates of tooth extractions and more preventative care than residents in communities not receiving ADTEP services. ADTEPs provide culturally appropriate dental education and routine dental services in Alaska Native communities, usually their home village, within the scope of their training. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium introduced the first ...