Applications open for Native Public Health Resilience Planning Program – US

Purpose

• The purpose of this program is to assist applicants to establish goals and performance measures, assess their current management capacity, and determine if developing a Public Health program is practicable. Specifically, programs should assess the availability and feasibility of the 10 Essential Public Health Services (EPHS), described.
• As part of the IHS mission to raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level, this program seeks to build on and strengthen community resilience by supporting wider access to the 10 EPHS in Indian Country, a framework designed to offer all people a fair and just opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being. The framework of the EPHS has served as a guide to the public health field since 1994, and describes the public health activities that all communities should undertake, including, 1) monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems, and 2) Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community. The EPHS framework was revised in 2020 with an emphasis on equity and reflects current and future public health practice goals. The EPHS have been included in the HHS Healthy People initiatives since 2010, when the initiative first included a focus area of Public Health Infrastructure with the goal to “ensure that Federal, Tribal, state, and local health agencies have the infrastructure to provide essential public health services effectively.”
• The 10 EPHS include:
  • Assess and monitor population health status, factors that influence health, and community needs and assets.
  • Investigate, diagnose, and address health problems and hazards affecting the population.
  • Communicate effectively to inform and educate people about health, factors that influence it, and how to improve it.
  • Strengthen, support, and mobilize communities and partnerships to improve health.
  • Create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws that impact health.
  • Use legal and regulatory actions designed to improve and protect the public’s health.
  • Contribute to an effective system that enables equitable access to the individual services and care needed to be healthy. This Service description has been adapted to better align with the anticipated scope of intended recipient jurisdictions.
  • Build and support a diverse and skilled public health workforce.
  • Improve and innovate public health functions through ongoing evaluation, research, and continuous quality improvement.
  • Build and maintain a strong organizational infrastructure for public health.

Funding Information

• The total funding identified for fiscal year (FY) 2024 is approximately $3,600,000.
• Individual award amounts for the first budget year are anticipated to be between $100,000 and $200,000.
• The IHS anticipates issuing approximately 24 awards under this program announcement.
• The period of performance is for 3 years.

Required and Allowable Activities

• Required Activities:
  • Assess community-specific public health needs.
  • Conduct an assessment to identify current EPHS activities and/or priorities.
  • Identify gaps in EPHS functions currently available within supported communities.
  • Quantify costs for establishing priority EPHS functions.
  • Assess feasibility of establishing priority EPHS functions.
• Allowable Activities
  • Allowable costs and activities must align with the 10 EPHS.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for this funding opportunity applicant must be one of the following:
  • A federally recognized Indian Tribe
  • A Tribal organization
  • An Urban Indian organization,
• The IHS does not fund concurrent projects. Specifically, an applicant may not be awarded under both this opportunity and the Native Public Health Resilience Planning opportunity. Applications on behalf of individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign organizations are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.