title: Palliative care: an emerging issue for American Indians and Alaskan Natives.
abstract: Over 4 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives live in communities that receive health care primarily from the federal Indian Health Service or tribal health programs. Palliative care has only recently been formally addressed for these communities. An Indian Health Service program introduced the topic and several programs are ongoing. Needs for and barriers to palliative care in native peoples' communities are discussed and several successful programs at various stages of development and implementation are described.
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Albuquerque, NM, USA. jkitzes@salud.unm.edu
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kitzes
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Domer
mesh_terms: D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D004930:Inuit; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D014481:United States; D016549:United States Indian Health Service / Q000458:organization & administration*