Tailoring Health Messaging for Native Communities

Lumina Corps partnered with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to enhance its communication of culturally sensitive health messages to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Our mission was to craft and disseminate information for IHS staff and community members, addressing crucial health topics like child and sexual abuse, suicide prevention, vaccine acceptance, and tribal self-governance. Through detailed landscape analysis and thoughtful materials development, we worked with IHS to ensure that every piece of content resonated authentically with Native populations.

Once the materials were created, we worked with IHS to devise outreach strategies, including in-clinic distribution and media outreach with a focus on radio due to its wide reach to areas with limited internet connectivity. This included coordinating a radio media tour aimed at motivating Native parents to resume childhood vaccinations after the pandemic and stay updated with COVID-19 boosters. The tour featured the IHS Chief Medical Officer in live interviews with local stations and shorter recorded radio news releases. These broadcasts reached hundreds of urban and rural Tribal communities across the country, ensuring that vital and time-sensitive health messages were accessible to all community members.