California Area Office

Health Promotion Disease Prevention Program (HP/DP)

The Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HP/DP) Program was established in 2005 to strengthen preventive health efforts and address the complex factors that influence health and chronic disease in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. These factors include the enduring effects of historical and intergenerational trauma, social and structural conditions, access to care, and other community-level influences on health. The HP/DP Program works to coordinate and enhance culturally responsive prevention strategies that support individual, family, and community well-being.

Program efforts include prevention initiatives that promote physical activity, support healthy communities, and strengthen access to culturally relevant health education. Tobacco prevention activities recognize and honor the sacred and traditional role of tobacco in many Tribal communities while clearly distinguishing traditional use from commercial tobacco use. These efforts include culturally tailored commercial tobacco prevention and cessation curricula designed to support informed choices, reduce commercial tobacco-related harms, and reinforce community-based approaches to wellness.

The HP/DP Program also places a growing emphasis on cancer prevention, screening, and survivorship navigation. These initiatives are designed to improve access to timely, coordinated, and patient-centered care across the cancer continuum. Quality improvement methods are incorporated to strengthen screening systems, improve follow-up of abnormal results, identify gaps in care, support patient navigation, and promote measurable improvements in prevention, screening, diagnostic follow-up, and survivorship support.

Health literacy is also a central component of the program’s approach to addressing the root causes of health inequities. Initiatives focus on improving access to clear, culturally relevant, and actionable health information; strengthening understanding of prevention and screening recommendations; supporting shared decision-making; and improving patients’ and families’ ability to navigate complex health systems. These efforts recognize that health outcomes are shaped not only by individual choices, but also by whether people have equitable access to trusted information, supportive services, and systems designed to meet their needs.

Nationally, the IHS HP/DP Program continues to strengthen tobacco prevention and cessation, physical activity promotion, chronic disease prevention, cancer prevention and screening, health literacy, and other culturally responsive strategies that support long-term community health and wellness.

The HP/DP Consultant is available to support Tribal and Urban Indian health programs in the planning, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention activities. Support may include identifying program priorities, developing and strengthening prevention initiatives, coordinating partnerships and resources, supporting quality improvement activities, and assisting with the implementation of culturally responsive strategies that align with community needs and program goals.

Anna Knight MS, APRN, FNP-C, PHN

HPDP Consultant California Area

Anna.knight@ihs.gov