Tribal health data team works to prevent disease in Native communities

This marks the third year the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board’s informatics team has been building data infrastructure for disease intervention and prevention in Native communities.

Nick Hill, the team’s senior informatics director, and his colleague Stephan Pingel, informatics specialist, spoke at the UTTC Tribal Leaders Summit Sept. 4 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

“We want to solve problems, not just talk theory,” Hill said.

The team tracks, stores, secures, accesses and exchanges data among tribes to prevent the spread of disease and manage exposures amid outbreaks.

A real-time dashboard, called the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board, is accessible to the public to view and enter information.