Epidemiology Program

The purpose of this program is to fund Tribes, Tribal and urban Indian organizations, and intertribal consortia to provide epidemiological support for the American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN) population served by IHS. Tribal Epidemiology Center (TEC) activities should include, but are not limited to, enhancement of surveillance for disease conditions; research, prevention and control of disease, injury, or disability; assessment of the effectiveness of AI/AN public health programs; epidemiologic analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of surveillance data; investigation of disease outbreaks; development and implementation of epidemiologic studies; development and implementation of disease control and prevention programs; and coordination of activities with other public health authorities in the region. It is the intent of IHS to fund several TECs that will serve Tribes and urban Indian communities in all 12 IHS Administrative Areas.

AI/AN Tribes, Tribal organizations, and eligible intertribal consortia or urban Indian organizations as defined by 25 U.S.C. 1603(e) may be eligible for a TEC cooperative agreement. Such entities must represent or serve a population of at least 60,000 AI/AN to be eligible as demonstrated by Tribal resolutions or the equivalent documentation from urban Indian clinic directors/Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Applicants must describe the population of AI/ANs and Tribes that will be represented. The number of AI/ANs served must be substantiated by documentation describing IHS user populations, United States Census Bureau data, clinical catchment data, or any method that is scientifically and epidemiologically valid. An intertribal consortium or urban Indian organization is eligible to receive a cooperative agreement if it is incorporated for the primary purpose of improving AI/AN health, and represents the Tribes, AN villages, or urban Indian communities in which it is located. Resolutions from each Tribe, AN village and equivalent documentation from each urban Indian community represented must be included in the application package. Collaborations with IHS Areas, Federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State, academic institutions or other organizations are encouraged (letters of support and collaboration should be included in the...

Selection criteria for the TEC awards are introduction, current capacity and project objectives, approach and results and benefits, project evaluation, organization capabilities and qualifications, and budget. Consideration will be given to applicants demonstrating evidence of past and current epidemiological activities.