Community Health Status
Alaska Natives face climate-related health challenges. Climate change has led to heatstroke, mental stress, and diseases. As heat emissions accumulate in the atmosphere, Alaska, as an Earth’s polar region, becomes hotter than regions at lower latitudes (Middlebrook et al., 2019). The rapid environmental changes resulting from extreme warming has caused significant physical and mental health problems among rural Alaskans. Unpredictable weather and season changes have led to food harvesting challenges, exposing farmers to food hazards and stress. According to Acton et al. (2020), physical injury risks have increased as severe weather, poor rice, and coastal erosion trigger new travel hazards.
Alaska Natives also face food security issues, which are critical for the community’s health and well-being. Difficult harvesting conditions for fish, barriers, caribou, shellfish, and sea mammals have raised critical concerns about food security. Furthermore, snowpack decline, drought threats, changes in river and lake conditions, damage, and disruption to public water systems have raised water security concerns. Middlebrook et al. (2019) suggest that the Alaska Native health system should recognize the community vulnerabilities and new stressors caused by climate change. This will help find healthy adaptation strategies to ensure the community’s health and well-being.
The Role of the Community as a Client
The concept of community as a client refers to considering population or group as the focus of healthcare services. Thus, the community has significant roles in assessing, analyzing, planning, implementing, and evaluating health care practices that would enhance their well-being. There is an increasing recognition that social-environmental factors are critically important in determining health status in Alaska (Kulbok et al., 2019). In this regard, Alaska Natives have a crucial role in supporting community-wide interventions that focus on developing a physical and health environment. Healthcare agencies, such as HIS and the federal government, should engage Alaska Natives in implementing healthful lifestyles. For example, the community should willingly participate in educational programs regarding healthy habits to avoid environmental degradation, reducing disease exposure.
Moreover, the community has a critical role in complying with various laws and policies that supports a healthy environment. Compliance with policies such as using renewable sources of energy, minimizing emissions, and providing nutritious foods can help the community reduce climate change impact. In this way, the community will support community-wide approaches for ensuring public well-being. Rather than focusing on educational interventions that involve small groups, the community should support community wide-approaches that target a large population. For example, reducing emissions can help the community avoid heat stressors; thus, reducing mental illnesses.
Healthy People 2020, Leading Health Indicators in Alaska Native Community
According to Acton et al. (2020), seventy-four percent of Alaska Native people were healthy in 2020. Furthermore, the community has a lower life expectancy and higher disease rates than the general US population. Acton et al. (2020) suggest that people with disabilities face significant disparities in healthcare outcomes. In essence, Alaska Natives with disabilities have higher risks for diseases than the general population. In addition to major structural challenges, policy and law have helped improve Alaska Natives’ health outcomes with disabilities. Research involving Alaska Natives with a disability has revealed a significant connection between their culture and negative health outcomes.
Conclusion
Climate change has triggered several health problems in the Alaska Native community. Extreme heat has caused physical and psychological health problems in the community. While health agencies and the federal government are supporting various health programs, the community has a critical role in enhancing the implementation of health interventions. Alaska health system should focus on increasing life expectancy and reducing disease rates among vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities.