Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
American Indian Children Have Serious Health Problems
American Indian children have serious health problems, compared to non-Native populations in the U.S., according to the American Association of Pediatrics. According to recent research, the AAP said American Indian and Alaska Native children don’t have access to medical care, have more injuries, more mental health disorders, are more prone to infectious diseases, and have more problems with obesity than other children.
Center for Disease Control Report
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), injuries account for 75% of all deaths among American Indian and Alaska Native children. These statistics say that American Indian/Alaska Native children have an injury-related date rate twice that of other populations.
The CDC wants to focus strategies on preventing these injury-related deaths that are caused by:
- motor-vehicle crashes
- suicides
- violence
- unintentional motor-vehicle crashes
- unintentional pedestrian events
- firearm use
- homicide
- unintentional drowning
- unintentional fire
According to the CDC, treatment and strategies for helping tribes is complicated by the fact that tribes are sovereign nations and pass and enforce their own traffic safety laws. American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest alcohol-related motor-vehicle–death rates of all racial/ethnic groups.
Culturally diverse
The AAP wants pediatricians to understand that American Indian/Alaska Native nations are culturally and linguistically diverse with more than 200 native languages still spoken. Pediatricians should understand that tribes have unique cultural practices and their treatment should reflect those practices, said the AAP.
Recommendations to health care providers by the American Association of Pediatrics include:
- don’t talk about death, risk, or harm—some tribes forbid it
- pediatricians should increase their understanding of tribal cultures by respectfully asking for guidance from tribal traditional healers and tribal elders.
Strategies recommended by AAP:
- avoid comparisons between AI/AN people and people of other cultures.
- convey information in a clear nonjudgmental style that is free of jargon.
- form coalitions linking IHS and tribal injury control specialists with others interested in childhood injury control in the surrounding community and state.
- respect tribal sovereignty and community-specific cultural factors when considering regulatory or legal approaches to injury prevention.
- provide assistance with advocacy for adoption of tribal seat belt and child car seat traffic safety laws or the adoption by tribes of state child motor vehicle safety laws.
- promote comprehensive seat belt and child car seat educational and media campaigns in AI/AN communities
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