The Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) Program provides technical support, resources, and training opportunities to the 27 American Indian Tribes, Bands, Pueblos, and Nations, urban Indian organizations, and other tribal entities within the Indian Health Service Administrative Area to support local tribal community health and wellness efforts to prevent chronic diseases.

The GHWIC Program was established in 2014 and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

GHWIC PROGRAM SERVICES

Community Wellness Project Sub-Awards

• The GHWIC Program provides Community Wellness Project sub-awards for culturally adapted community projects that support wellness and chronic disease prevention.
• More to come!

Chronic Disease Prevention Training & Activities

• Basic Tobacco Intervention Skills Training for Native Communities
• Partners in Good Health and Wellness Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Skills for Tribal Health Workers
• Fitness Trainings for Native Communities
• Love Your Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit Fest: Healthy Heart Skills and Networking Event for Tribal Health Workers
• Other trainings identified by Tribes, Pueblos, Bands, and Nations, and urban Indian organizations in the IHS Administrative Albuquerque Area.
• Southwest Tribal Tobacco Coalition

Technical Assistance to Support Chronic Disease Prevention in Native Communities

• Evaluation
• Group facilitation (experiential education/team building activities, Open Space Technology, World Café/Rez Café, etc.)
• Health communication products and graphic design
• Presentations (chronic disease prevention, commercial tobacco prevention and control, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, etc.)
• Strategic planning

 

GHWIC PROGRAM STAFF

• Michele Suina, PhD (Cochiti Pueblo) – GHWIC PI, Indigenous Health and Wellness Director
• Janna Vallo, MPA (Acoma Pueblo) – Commercial Tobacco Control and Prevention Coordinator
• Daytona Raye, MS (Diné) – Program Coordinator
• Cody St. Arnold, BA (Jicarilla Apache/Keeweenaw Bay Ojibwe) – Health Communications Specialist
• Aisha Baloo, MPH (Diné) – Program Evaluator

The Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness (N CREW) Program is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded program that aims to conduct locally prioritized, culturally grounded, and strengths-based research to address overdose, substance use, and pain, including related factors such as mental health and wellness. The AAIHB N CREW Program has three main goals:

• RESEARCH CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT: Enhance capacity throughout the AAIHB service area to conduct locally prioritized research by developing and providing novel, accessible, culturally grounded technical assistance and training, resources, and tools.
• DATA IMPROVEMENT: Improve access to, and the quality of, data on substance use, pain, and related health and wellbeing factors to maximize their potential for use in local decision-making.
• CULTURALLY-CENTERED RESEARCH: Lead community prioritized research projects, including research elevating and integrating Indigenous Knowledge and culture.

AAIHB NCREW TEAM:

• Kevin English – Principal Investigator
• Charlene Poola – Principal Investigator
• Nathania Tsosie – Indigenous Health Researcher
• Cheyenne Jim – Program Coordinator
• Kori VanDerGeest – Epidemiologist
• Michele Suina – Indigenous Health & Wellness Director

In support of Tribal Data Sovereignty, the Southwest Indigenous Data Portal (SID) offers a free on-line data collection and storage service, to tribes and tribal partners in the Indian Health Service Albuquerque Area to collect and maintain health data.

SID has the following features:

• HIPAA and HITECH Certified Compliant
• Secure online access
• Compatible with any computer and most mobile devices
• Eliminates the need for a local network
• Fast remote technical assistance from AASTEC
• Capability to import and export data through Excel spreadsheets

SID allows Tribal programs to manage programmatic information to:

• Track program activities
• Evaluate program services
• Monitor participant health status and outcomes
• Develop Report
• Provides a Data Repository

SID is a free service to Tribes and Tribal Organizations in the IHS Albuquerque Service Area but requires:

• • Adequate internet connect
  • Signed and approved data sharing agreement

Data sharing agreements between AASTEC and participating Tribes are designed to enforce Tribal ownership of all data, outline procedures for protecting the security and confidentiality of all data, and highlight AASTEC’s technical assistance and support role.

For more information or to request a database please click on the Database Image and submit a request and someone will contact you soon.

We are committed to empowering communities to sustain behavioral health systems and champions to promote wellness

SOW Programs

• • Tribal Opioid Response Grant (TOR)

The purpose of the Tribal Opioid Response Grant (TOR) is to address the opioid crisis in Tribal communities by increasing access to culturally appropriate and evidence-based treatment.

• • 988 Tribal Response Project

The overarching purpose of the AAIHB 988Tribal Response Project is to:

-Improve response to 988 contacts originating in Tribal communities and/or activated by American Indians in the AAIHB service area

-Improve integration to ensure there is navigation and follow-up care

-Facilitate collaborations with tribal/state health providers, tribal organizations, law enforcement, and other first responders in a manner which respects Tribal sovereignty.

• • Equine Assisted Psychotherapy

AAIHB is in partnership with Equine Therapeutic Connections (ETC) to serve the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native(AI/AN) youth through equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP). EAP is a non-traditional experiential therapy which guides the clients to learn about themselves and others through the use of horses. This effective and unique therapeutic method serves to facilitate internal healing and a sense of well- being for youth and their families. Eligible participants are AI/AN youth who are 12- 18 years old. There is no cost to participate.

SOW Database Link

The SOW team can provide:

Technical Assistance click here to put in a request for

- Presentations on topic such as Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)

- Referral to the EAP project

Trainings click here to put in a request for

- Adult Mental Health First Aid training

- NARCAN Training and Distrubution

- Youth Mental Health First Aid

- Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR)

Overdose Prevention and Response Services here to order

- Deterra Drug Disposal pouches

- NARCAN Kits

The SOW TEAM

• Charlene Poola, PhD, LCSW, Tribal Behavioral Health Program Director
• Randi Begaye, MPH – Program Coordinator
• Kylie Cayedito, BS - Program Specialist
• Stephanie Paz, MPH, CHES- Program Evaluator
• Ivan Toya, CSPW- Peer Support Specialist
• Olivia Harrison, BS – Prevention Specialist
• Cypress Zellers, BSW - Training Specialist

Tribal Preparedness Summit has concluded, if you are interested in viewing presentations from this event click here.

TO REQUEST TRAINING OR ASSISTANCE CLICK HERE

Although tribal governments have been dealing with emergencies and disasters for centuries, many are just now beginning to establish formal programs to address them. Consequently, there is a critical need for sustained resources and culturally appropriate technical support to bolster tribal public health infrastructure in all four domains of public health preparedness – mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery.

AASTEC aims to establish and maintain public health resources and culturally appropriate technical support to the 27 tribes in its assigned region. This support is critical to rural tribal communities that face natural and human-made disasters with increasing frequency. Research suggests that American Indians and Alaskan Natives are at a higher risk of disaster exposure, and consequently, disasters are often exacerbated by limited access to resources. Many tribes face unique challenges to disaster planning, stemming from geographic isolation and limited or no access to critical emergency response services. AASTEC is chartered to bolster tribal public health infrastructure in four domains— preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery.

Ultimately, the outcome will include:

1. Increased regional surveillance of public health emergencies and tribal preparedness capacity
2. Increased comprehensiveness of tribal public health emergency plans and protocols
3. Increased reach and utilization of culturally relevant communications tools
4. Increased regional partnerships focused on tribal public health preparedness

View the following links for more information.
(Links Under Development)

• Assessment:
• Communication:
• Community Partnerships:
• Workforce Development:
• Technical Support:

The Tribal Environmental Health Program (TEHP) aims to ensure tribes can continue to maintain a healthy connection with their environment. The program promotes health and wellbeing by addressing exposures from the natural and built environment. TEHP provides advanced technical assistance, assists tribes with home assessments, and facilitates environmental health advocacy at the community level.

Tribal Healthy Homes Projects

• Aims to use a community engaged model to assist with the development of a GPS data collection tool and to train staff to conduct home indoor radon assessment, chronic health conditions, and potential injury risk factors.
• To learn more about our program, visit our website at Tribal Healthy Homes

Indigenous Healthy Homes & Healthy Communities Project

• The Indigenous Healthy Homes & Healthy Communities Project (IHHC) aims to identify and decrease indoor environmental exposures, such as radon, fall injury risks and hazards, asthma triggers, and everyday stressors to support healthier homes and communities.
• IHHC is funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) program. The Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC), a subsidiary of the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board, Inc. (AAIHB), is partnering with two academic institutions, University of Arizona (UA) and University of New Mexico (UNM) on this project.

AASTEC Spatial

• Supports the use of spatial data to advance the health and wellbeing of tribes

The Tribal Epidemiology Centers Public Health Infrastructure (TECPHI) Program aims to enhance the public health capacity of the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC) and the 27 tribes in the Indian Health Service Albuquerque Area to effectively identify and address underlying social determinants of health.

AASTEC TECPHI provides technical assistance, training, and funding for tribes to collect, manage, and use data to make data-driven decisions.

• Tribal Data
• Trainings
• Technical Assistance
• Tribal Data Users Workgroup
• Success Stories

Program Overview

The AAIHB Injury Prevention Program focuses on reducing injuries, particularly older adult falls, and motor vehicle crashes, within American Indian communities. Using a combination of evidence-based strategies and Indigenous methodologies, this program aims to build capacity at the community, policy, system, and environmental levels, ultimately improving the health and wellness of the AI/AN population in our service area.

Key Objectives

Our goals include fostering collaboration among tribal injury prevention partners, offering fall prevention training, and supporting low-cost home safety interventions for elders. In the area of motor vehicle-related injuries, we focus on increasing the proper use of motor vehicle seats for children under 13, distributing Child Passenger Safety (CPS) seats, conducting seat installation trainings and inspections, and offering National CPS Certification training and educational resources.

Culturally Relevant Resources

Through the Albuquerque Area Tribal Injury Prevention Coalition, we support tribes in developing culturally appropriate, trauma-informed injury prevention materials, including fact sheets on fall prevention and CPS as well as bringing subject matter experts to the coalition. The program encourages networking and resource sharing to collectively address injury prevention across the region, strengthening tribal staff capacity and advancing community well-being.

Program Support

AAIHB AASTEC coordinates the Tribal Injury Prevention Cooperative Agreement Program (TIPCAP) with funding from the Indian Health Service to develop injury prevention infrastructure. We also participate in the CDC’s Alcohol-Impaired Driving Prevention Program, addressing alcohol-related injuries in AI/AN communities using evidence-based strategies and Indigenous evaluation approaches.

For more details, please visit our website - CLICK HERE

The Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC), a program of the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board, Inc. (AAIHB), collaborates on multiple Tribal Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs and projects with our tribal communities and partners in New Mexico, Southern Colorado, West Texas and Southern Utah.

Program and project goals vary to:

1. provide a survey to assess the health needs of Native American mothers and babies in New Mexico,
2. develop a toddler survey that features questions designed to understand toddler health through an Indigenous lens,
3. increase knowledge and availability of tribal specific Sudden Infant Death Syndrome/Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SIDS/SUID) prevention materials and resources,
4. build awareness around maternal health, enhance review of maternal deaths, formalize tribal partnerships, and policy assessment to improve maternal health outcomes, and
5. engage a statewide maternal health task force to create a shared space to strategize and bring awareness across all maternal health areas.

MCH PROGRAMS:

1. Tribal Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS)
2. Tribal PRAMS Toddler Survey
3. Contributing to Healthy Native Babies Program (HNBP)
4. ERASE Maternal Mortality
5. New Mexico Maternal Health Task Force (NMMHTF)

2025 Tribal Maternal Wellness Summit-September 10-11, 2025

Presentations are now available 

The Tribal Overdose Prevention Program aims to prevent overdose deaths in southwest tribal communities by making American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) overdose data more accurate, accessible, and actionable.
Our key strategies are : 1) Improvements to Overdose Data

• Enhance existing overdose datasets and public health surveillance systems to strengthen the identification of emerging trends.
• Build an overdose data portal that tribal programs can use to collect, manage, and report tribe-specific overdose data.
• Develop and disseminate data products on AI/AN drug overdose trends and hotspots in the Southwest.

2) Health Systems Interventions

• Facilitate provider detailing sessions on opioid prescribing practices for clinicians in IHS/Tribal/Urban Indian Health facilities.
• Provide trauma informed care trainings for health professionals in tribal communities.

3) Harm Reduction Awareness

• Increase awareness of and access to harm reduction resources.
• Combat stigma around substance use with culturally specific communication products.

For more information about our program, please contact Kori VanDerGeest at kvandergeest@aaihb.org.

• Data collection and management
• Survey design
• Program evaluation
• Community-based health research
• Developing health education/communication materials

For more information on our internship program and how to apply, please visit our internship webpage.

New Mexico Youth Risk & Resiliency Survey
The New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (NMYRRS) is a school-based survey that is administered to middle and high school students every two years. Survey results help to characterize adolescent health behaviors, as well as resiliency and protective factors. The NM YRRS is made possible by a collaborative partnership between the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH), the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED), the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center (UNM PRC), and the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board/Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AAIHB/AASTEC).

AAIHB/AASTEC’s Involvement
Each survey year, AAIHB/AASTEC identifies schools in New Mexico that serve a high rate of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. These schools are generally on, or near, tribal communities and include public, charter, tribal, and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools. At these specific schools, an oversample (or census) of the NM YRRS is administered. This means that all 6-12 grade students are given the opportunity to complete the survey. Employing an oversample technique increases representation of AI/AN youth in the NMYRRS and results in data that are more useful to tribal communities and tribal-serving organizations.
Since beginning the AAIHB/AASTEC oversample project in 2007, the number of AI/AN students represented within the NM YRRS state sample has roughly doubled.

Click below for 2023 NM YRRS AI/AN Student highlights:

• 2023 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey-Middle School Data Highlights
• 2023 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey-High School Data Highlights

Healthy Kids Colorado Survey
The Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) is Colorado’s school-based survey focused on the health and well-being of young people. The purpose of this survey is to better understand youth health and the factors that help young people make healthy choices. Much like the NM YRRS, the HKCS is aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

Since 2013, AAIHB/AASTEC has partnered with the Colorado School of Public Health to support administration of the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey at middle and high schools serving tribal communities in Southwest Colorado (Region 9).

AASTEC New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency and Health Kids Colorado Survey Data

• For past reports of the NM YRRS or HKCS please see "Reports and Publications."
• To request NM YRRS or HKCS survey data or products not already provided, click here.