The Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center believes Tribe-owned, Tribe-led data makes communities healthier. Our epidemiology projects and resources focus on increasing Northwest Tribes’ access to and ownership of public health data to improve their citizens’ lives.
NWTEC’s data and epidemiology services are funded by grants and support from the Indian Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other funders.
Access Data
Learn about our projects
The primary goal of the Northwest Tribal Data Hub (Data Hub) project is to connect Tribal communities with their data, helping them care for their people and inform health policy, community planning, and funding proposals. The Data Hub provides Tribes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington secure access to accurate, up-to-date public health data on topics including demographics, cancer, substance use, hospitalizations, causes of death, and other health issues. Tribes can view, interact with, and download community-specific data through visual dashboards.
The Data Hub includes data that has been corrected for American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) misclassification, making these data more accurate for Tribes than data obtained directly from state and federal sources. Tribes can see aggregated data for their IHS Purchased/Referred Care Service Delivery Area (PRCDA), Northwest states, and the Northwest region. Over time, the Data Hub will offer more health topics and community health profiles.
To learn more about the Data Hub and get started with accessing your Tribe’s data, visit: https://datahub.npaihb.org/
Contacts:
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Sujata Joshi, MSPH |
Sunny Stone, MPH, MCHES |
The Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit serves the 43 federally recognized Tribes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington by providing support with data surveillance, analysis, and reporting. The team fulfills data requests and technical assistance from Tribes, which can range from health data briefs, survey design, and regional community health profiles.
For many requests, a Tribal service area is estimated by using data for the counties included in the Tribe’s Indian Health Services (IHS) Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area (PRCDA). The PRCDA region is generally used because Tribal-specific data or Tribal enrollment data is not available (unless provided by the Tribe). Some data sources have been corrected for American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) misclassification, while others have not.
To reach out about a data request or technical assistance, please visit: https://www.npaihb.org/drta/
Contacts:
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Alyssa Yang, MPH |
Data modernization aims to move public health systems from siloed, outdated infrastructure to a connected data ecosystem that supports timely decision-making, effective services, and improved health outcomes. Across the country, public health agencies are upgrading legacy systems, incorporating automated processes, and strengthening workforce skills to ensure data can be used when and where it matters most.
At NPAIHB, data modernization is more than a technical upgrade—it is an opportunity to advance Tribal data sovereignty. We believe Tribes have the inherent right to define their own data priorities, determine populations of focus, and govern how their data are collected, shared, owned and used. Our data modernization work centers on building internal organizational awareness, strengthening data governance, and supporting a skilled workforce, while also partnering with Northwest Tribes to plan and develop their own data modernization projects. By grounding data modernization in Tribal sovereignty, capacity building, and sustainability, we are working toward data systems that are not only more effective but also rooted in Tribal governance and self-determination.
NPAIHB Data Modernization Goals:
- Improve efficiency in how NPAIHB collects, prepares, and organizes data so it can be used quickly and effectively by Tribes.
- Increase accessibility to high-quality public health data and analysis for Tribes while protecting the safety and security of Tribal data.
- Strengthen the ability of NPAIHB and Tribes to find, explore, and understand data to answer important public health questions.
- Expand collaboration and partnerships with Tribal, state, and federal partners to better coordinate data modernization efforts.
How is NPAIHB Approaching Data Modernization? See our ‘Project Snapshots’ below.
Resources
The Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (NWTEC) honors and upholds Northwest Tribes’ inherent right to govern the collection, ownership, and use of their health data. NWTEC works to access and steward data in ways that uphold Tribal data sovereignty.
The NWTEC Data Catalog provides a list of state and federal data sources that NWTEC access to support the work of the Northwest Tribes.
rThe NWTEC Data Governance Handbook outlines how NWTEC manages and stewards data to promote the availability, quality, and security of Tribes’ data.
In the Northwest and nationally, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people’s identities are often incorrectly or incompletely recorded in health and administrative data systems. This results in AI/AN people being erased from data used to understand the health of Tribal communities, inform public health planning, and allocate funding and other resources. AI/AN misclassification erodes Tribes’ ability to access and use reliable information to improve the health of their communities.
With approval from NPAIHB’s member Tribes, the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center has pioneered the use of record linkages to correct AI/AN misclassification in a range of Northwest data systems, including state cancer registries, vital records, and communicable disease reporting systems. We return these enhanced data to Northwest Tribes (through the Northwest Tribal Data Hub, data requests and data reports) to use to protect and improve the lives of their community members.
NWTEC Resources and Publications
Probabilistic Linkage Software Resources
Other Resources
The NWTEC believes that:
- Tribe-led, Tribe-owned data makes communities healthier.
- When we all share knowledge, we strengthen Tribal health.
- Your Tribe’s data belongs to you.
As sovereign nations and public health authorities, Northwest Tribes have the right to obtain, use, and share data and information about their communities’ health to protect and improve the lives of their people. The Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (NWTEC) believes that data sharing between Tribes, NWTEC, and other agencies should strengthen Tribal sovereignty and Tribal public health authority. The resources below support Tribes, Tribal Epidemiology Centers, and other Native-serving organizations in building data sharing partnerships that support Tribal data sovereignty.
NWTEC Data Sharing Agreement
The NWTEC data sharing agreement and its addenda are a framework for collaboration, data use and sharing, grounded in Tribal sovereignty. NWTEC is working to establish these data sharing agreements with each of NPAIHB’s member Tribes.
NativeDATA (currently being updated)
NativeDATA is a free online resource that offers practical guidance for Tribes and Native-serving organizations on obtaining and sharing health data. We also offer data sharing success stories, as well as tips for those seeking to respectfully collaborate with Tribes and Native-serving organizations.
Other Resources
GET IN TOUCH
Looking to get in touch with our team? Please reach out via the form to the right or to one of our team members and we will get back to you as soon as we’re able.
Epidemiology & Surveillance Unit Contact:
Alyssa Yang, MPH
drta@npaihb.org
NW Tribal Data Hub & Data Modernization Contact:
Sujata Joshi, MSPH
datahub@npaihb.org