Internship: Increasing Awareness of Alzheimer's Disease within the American Indian Population of North Carolina
As part of my culminating internship project, I partnered with the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity (MACHE) and the North Carolina American Indian Health Board (NCAIHB) to address Alzheimer’s disease (AD) within the American Indian/Alaska Native population of North Carolina (NC-AIAN) by targeting the following objectives:
These internship objectives were created in response to the lack of research/knowledge revealing the perceptions NC-AIANs have about AD and the general societal lack of awareness surrounding the disease. Due to this scarcity of previous research studies available for me to compare my efforts to, I initially found it challenging to identify the specific objectives. After extensive searching, no studies were found that addressed AD in the NC-AIAN population. There was one awareness effort that targeted Natives in the western part of United States, but not on those living in the eastern part. I regarded this as evidence that AD awareness efforts should be taken in NC. Our potential efforts were then limited to focusing on the progression and health implications of AD because little is known about the disease’s cause and preventative actions have not yet been clearly defined. I felt seemingly handcuffed by the lack of existing data.
Through conversations with staff, I was made aware that MACHE and NCAIHB are interested in providing AD education opportunities to NC-AIANs and that prior to offering those services, their organization must show a need for them. I knew that in order to illustrate that need, supporting data would have to be collected; thus, I decided to conduct a health needs assessment questionnaire to provide necessary support in MACHE and NCAIHB’s effort to provide those services.
Each of the internship objectives were successfully accomplished. In March at the annual American Indian Unity Conference, I co-presented a pilot AD awareness workshop and collected health needs data from participants about AD via a questionnaire. The evaluation of these efforts and data findings are provided below along with a further explanation of my internship activities. The results can now be used by MACHE and NCAIHB to show the need for AD education and awareness opportunities servicing the AIANs of NC.
- Increase the awareness of AD by providing information on the disease’s progression and associated health implications
- Develop resources/tools that can be used by MACHE and NCAIHB to collect data on the perceptions NC-AIANs have about AD
- Identify whether or not the development and implementation of educational resources are needed within NC tribal communities.
These internship objectives were created in response to the lack of research/knowledge revealing the perceptions NC-AIANs have about AD and the general societal lack of awareness surrounding the disease. Due to this scarcity of previous research studies available for me to compare my efforts to, I initially found it challenging to identify the specific objectives. After extensive searching, no studies were found that addressed AD in the NC-AIAN population. There was one awareness effort that targeted Natives in the western part of United States, but not on those living in the eastern part. I regarded this as evidence that AD awareness efforts should be taken in NC. Our potential efforts were then limited to focusing on the progression and health implications of AD because little is known about the disease’s cause and preventative actions have not yet been clearly defined. I felt seemingly handcuffed by the lack of existing data.
Through conversations with staff, I was made aware that MACHE and NCAIHB are interested in providing AD education opportunities to NC-AIANs and that prior to offering those services, their organization must show a need for them. I knew that in order to illustrate that need, supporting data would have to be collected; thus, I decided to conduct a health needs assessment questionnaire to provide necessary support in MACHE and NCAIHB’s effort to provide those services.
Each of the internship objectives were successfully accomplished. In March at the annual American Indian Unity Conference, I co-presented a pilot AD awareness workshop and collected health needs data from participants about AD via a questionnaire. The evaluation of these efforts and data findings are provided below along with a further explanation of my internship activities. The results can now be used by MACHE and NCAIHB to show the need for AD education and awareness opportunities servicing the AIANs of NC.
Internship Activities and Data Findings
The American Indian Unity Conference was chosen as the site for implementation of the pilot AD awareness workshop and collection of data for the AD health needs assessment questionnaire. The conference provided a resourceful environment, due to its focus on addressing the needs of NC-AIANs and its diverse tribal representation of conference participants.
I co-presented the AD awareness presentation with Dr. Ronny Bell and Dr. Laura Baker of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. I led the workshop’s closing discussion segment that sought to understand how AD impacts NC-AIANs personally and tribally. Many of the participants shared stories of their loved ones who currently have AD or have had it in the past. Participants strongly voiced a need for more AD resources in their tribal communities and reported that they feel their fellow community members would benefit from that presentation just as they did.
The AD health needs assessment questionnaires were made available for conference participants to complete at the NCAIHB’s informational table. An analysis of the data was completed using the SPSS software. A total of 52 questionnaires were completed, with the average participant being 47 years old. In addition to each of the eight state recognized tribes, four other American Indian tribes were represented in the data. The data findings suggest a substantial need for AD education and awareness opportunities. The majority (62.7%) of the participants reported that they had a family member who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia by a doctor. Further details of these analyses can be seen in the documents below.
Particularly when writing grants, MACHE and NCAIHB can use the results of this internship as evidence to support their argument for why AD awareness opportunities are needed within the American Indian tribal communities of NC. Furthermore, these results can be used to advance the public health field’s knowledge of how AD impacts the NC-AIAN population.
I co-presented the AD awareness presentation with Dr. Ronny Bell and Dr. Laura Baker of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. I led the workshop’s closing discussion segment that sought to understand how AD impacts NC-AIANs personally and tribally. Many of the participants shared stories of their loved ones who currently have AD or have had it in the past. Participants strongly voiced a need for more AD resources in their tribal communities and reported that they feel their fellow community members would benefit from that presentation just as they did.
The AD health needs assessment questionnaires were made available for conference participants to complete at the NCAIHB’s informational table. An analysis of the data was completed using the SPSS software. A total of 52 questionnaires were completed, with the average participant being 47 years old. In addition to each of the eight state recognized tribes, four other American Indian tribes were represented in the data. The data findings suggest a substantial need for AD education and awareness opportunities. The majority (62.7%) of the participants reported that they had a family member who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia by a doctor. Further details of these analyses can be seen in the documents below.
Particularly when writing grants, MACHE and NCAIHB can use the results of this internship as evidence to support their argument for why AD awareness opportunities are needed within the American Indian tribal communities of NC. Furthermore, these results can be used to advance the public health field’s knowledge of how AD impacts the NC-AIAN population.