Evaluation for tribal health programs
Page in progress
Tribal health programs answer to their communities, to tribal leadership and to federal funders at once, and each wants different evidence. Our knowledge of tribal health is extensive. We work with tribal nations and tribal health organizations across the lower 48 states, and with Indigenous health programs internationally.
We have worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Movember, among many others.
How does Plotline Evaluation approach tribal health program evaluation?
Under tribal data sovereignty: the Tribe decides what is collected, who holds it and what is published, and tribal research review is part of the timeline. Methods are designed with the community, findings go back to the community first, and small numbers are reported with their limits. Plotline Evaluation works with tribal nations and tribal health organizations across the lower 48 states and with Indigenous health programs internationally.
What this work requires of an evaluator
- Tribal data sovereignty. The Tribe decides what is collected, who holds it, who sees it and what is published. Tribal research review and council approval are part of the timeline, not an obstacle to it.
- The community’s own definitions of health and wellness come first. The evaluation measures what the community says matters, alongside what the funder requires.
- Methods that fit: talking circles, interviews and surveys designed with community members, in the languages people use, carried out by people the community has agreed to work with.
- Honest numbers. Small populations mean small counts, so every figure is reported with its limits and no chart identifies a person or a family.
- Findings go back to the community first, in a form it can use, before they go to the funder.
What we do in this field
We are a mixed-methods practice. The numbers show what changed and by how much. Interviews, focus groups and observations show why. We design both into the evaluation from the start, read each against the other, and report them as one story.
- Logic models and evaluation plans for federal, state and foundation applications
- Community health assessments and needs assessments built on community voice as well as clinic and surveillance data
- Surveys, focus groups, talking circles and interviews with patients, families, elders, providers and tribal leadership
- Process, outcome and impact evaluation of behavioral health, prevention, maternal and child health and wellness programs
- Qualitative and quantitative analysis across tribal, state and federal data sources
- Data management that protects the people behind the data
- Expert data visualization, and final reporting in multiple formats: full report, executive summary, slide deck, one-page brief or dashboard
Funding and next steps
Where the funding and the data come from:
- SAMHSA’s Office of Tribal Affairs lists its tribal funding opportunities, among them Native Connections, and SAMHSA announcements score the data collection and performance measurement plan.
- Tribal Epidemiology Centers hold much of the regional data a tribal health evaluation draws on.
- The Indian Health Service and the tribal and urban programs that contract or compact with it report on federal performance measures as well as their own.
See also evaluation for programs addressing missing and murdered Indigenous women. Applying for funding? We write the evaluation plan with you at no charge.
Questions people ask
Where do you work with tribal health programs?
With tribal nations and tribal health organizations across the lower 48 states, and with Indigenous health programs internationally. The work is remote, with site visits budgeted when the design calls for them.
Who owns the data in a tribal health evaluation?
The Tribe. Tribal data sovereignty means the Tribe decides what is collected, who holds it, who sees it and what is published. Tribal research review and council approval are built into the timeline.
Can you report to the funder and to the community?
Yes. Federal performance measures and the community’s own measures are collected together and reported as one story, and the community sees the findings first, in a form it can use.
Running or planning a tribal health program?
Tell us about the community, the program and what your funder expects. You will hear back within one business day.
Every inquiry is confidential. We never sell or share your information. Privacy policy.