American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) compared to non-white Hispanics (NHW), suffer from disparately higher levels of health problems such as liver disease and motor vehicle deaths. American Indians in the southwest are more likely to be diagnosed with late stage cancers than NHW, especially the ?screenable? cancers of cervix, colorectal and breast, and survival is lower than among NHW as a result. Contributing factors to these disparities include social determinants of health, cultural beliefs and values, health care system policies, and a lack of information, embedded in a history of oppression leading to distrust of research and medicine. The American Indian Research for Health (AIRCH) was established in 2000 partnership between the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) and the Native American Research and Training Center (NARTC) at The University of Arizona (UA) to reduce health disparities among American Indians and Alaska Natives by engaging tribes in research that is scientifically sound and culturally respectful. ITCA works to improve the capacity of Tribes in Arizona, including areas related to health. With over 60 staff and 30 projects, ITCA provides on-going technical assistance and training to Tribes in program planning and development, research and data collection, and resource development. The Administrative Core of the American Indian Research Center for Health will provide oversight of all AIRCH activities; coordinate communication between the various projects and project staff and to guide the evaluation activities. Over the past 16 years, we have involved thousands of participants in research education activities, and in the last eight years we have trained over 300 students and community members in research, mentored more than 120 AIAN trainees including 13 Jr. Faculty. We have published 57 papers and given more than 90 presentations. The faculty have published 16 additional papers and given 50 poster and oral presentations. During the 2017-2021 project period, we will include three aims to ensure an effective program that meets the NARCH objectives in research, training and capacity building to support Tribes in health and health research to reduce AIAN health disparities. The AIRCH Administrative Core will use a culturally respectful approach in partnership with our Arizona Indian Tribes to provide oversight of all AIRCH activities to ensure responsible fiscal and programmatic activity and culturally competent research, to coordinate communication between the various components of AIRCH partnership for organizational and managerial correspondence, resource development and dissemination and implementation of key findings; and to plan and implement an
