Reclaiming Indigenous Health in the US: Moving beyond the Social Determinants of Health

Stephanie Russo Carroll; Michele Suina; Mary Beth Jäger; Jessica Black; Stephen Cornell; Angela A Gonzales; Miriam Jorgensen; Nancy Lynn Palmanteer-Holder; Jennifer S De La Rosa; Nicolette I Teufel-Shone

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127495

Reclaiming Indigenous Health in the US: Moving beyond the Social Determinants of Health

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 18;19(12):7495. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127495.

Authors

Stephanie Russo Carroll^{1

2}, Michele Suina³, Mary Beth Jäger¹, Jessica Black⁴, Stephen Cornell^{1

5

6}, Angela A Gonzales⁷, Miriam Jorgensen^{1

6}, Nancy Lynn Palmanteer-Holder^{8

9}, Jennifer S De La Rosa^{10

11

12}, Nicolette I Teufel-Shone^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Native Nations Institute, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
² Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
³ Good Health Wellness in Indian Country Program, Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center, Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA.
⁴ Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development and Tribal Governance, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
⁵ Department of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
⁶ Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
⁷ School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
⁸ BALCSTAR Consulting PLLC, Omak, WA 98841, USA.
⁹ University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
¹⁰ Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine Tucson, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85711, USA.
¹¹ Comprehensive Pain & Addiction Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
¹² Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities, College of Medicine Tucson, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
¹³ Center for Health Equity Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Health Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.

Abstract

The lack of literature on Indigenous conceptions of health and the social determinants of health (SDH) for US Indigenous communities limits available information for Indigenous nations as they set policy and allocate resources to improve the health of their citizens. In 2015, eight scholars from tribal communities and mainstream educational institutions convened to examine: the limitations of applying the World Health Organization's (WHO) SDH framework in Indigenous communities; Indigenizing the WHO SDH framework; and Indigenous conceptions of a healthy community. Participants critiqued the assumptions within the WHO SDH framework that did not cohere with Indigenous knowledges and epistemologies and created a schematic for conceptualizing health and categorizing its determinants. As Indigenous nations pursue a policy role in health and seek to improve the health and wellness of their nations' citizens, definitions of Indigenous health and well-being should be community-driven and Indigenous-nation based. Policies and practices for Indigenous nations and Indigenous communities should reflect and arise from sovereignty and a comprehensive understanding of the nations and communities' conceptions of health and its determinants beyond the SDH.

Keywords: Indigenous; Indigenous knowledge; WHO; health; healthy community; social determinants of health.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Health Status
Humans
Social Determinants of Health*
Social Factors*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by W.K. Kellogg Foundation, “Beyond ‘Health Care’: Community, Governance, and Culture in the Health and Wellness of Native Nations,” P3016653. and Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.