Finding Strength in Small Numbers: Epidemiology in Urban Indian Communities

This one-hour webinar, which is part of the Hot Topics series, reviews strategies for working with small data sets to better understand the health of indigenous populations.

Learning Objectives

• Identify health issues and initiatives important to urban Indian communities.
• Explore the impacts of racial misclassification on research, policy, and public health practice.
• List strategies for data analysis and reporting to correct for racial misclassification.

Intended Audiences

Local, state, and tribal public health professionals; epidemiologists and public health researchers; health equity advocates

Presenter

Adrian Dominguez, MS, Scientific Director, Urban Indian Health Institute

Discussion Questions

1. How does your organization analyze and report racial groups and small numbers?
2. How does racial misclassification affect our ability to successfully address health disparities?
3. Why is it important to correct misclassification and expand on small number analysis skills?

Resources

• Urban Indian Health Institute Data Dashboard
• Tribal Nations & the United States: An Introduction (pdf) (National Congress of American Indians)
• Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans (pdf) (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights)
• The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010 Census Briefs (pdf) (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Jim, M.A., et al (2014). Racial Misclassification of American Indians and Alaska Natives by Indian Health Service Contract Health Service Delivery Area. Am J Public Health; 104 (Suppl 3): S295-302
• James, R.J., et al (2018). Responsible Research with Urban Americans and Alaska Natives. Am J Public Health: 108 (12): 1613-1616