Using Strategic Planning and Organizational Development Principles for Health Promotion in an Alaska Native Community

Abstract

Health promotion aims to support people in their efforts to increase control over factors that impact health and well-being. This emphasis on empowerment and contextual influences allows for a more holistic conceptualization of health and approaches to promoting health that are anchored in principles of community development and systems change. Piciryaratgun Calritllerkaq (Healthy Living Through A Healthy Lifestyle) is a collaboration between a Yup'ik village in rural Alaska and researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The goal was to improve nutrition, increase exercise, and decrease stress. The project utilized elements of organization development and strategic planning to develop a local infrastructure and process and to promote local expertise. The project team developed goals, objectives, action, and evaluation plans that integrated local traditions, Yup'ik culture, and research.

KEYWORDS:

• Alaska Natives
• health promotion
• indigenous
• organization development
• planning
• rural

Notes

This research was made possible by a COBRE grant from the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health (5 P20 RR016430) PI: Gerald V. Mohatt, PhD and by a grant from the National Heart Blood and Lung Institute at the National Institutes for Health (1R21HL083862–01A1) PI: Cécile Lardon.