The Indian Health Service (IHS) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health have a joint partnership supporting the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH). The NARCH initiative, currently in its seventh year, supports partnerships between AI/AN Tribes or Tribally-based organizations and institutions that conduct intensive academic-level biomedical, behavioral and health services research. This funding mechanism develops opportunities for conducting research, research training and faculty development to meet the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. As a developmental process, Tribes and Tribal Organizations are able to build a research infrastructure, including a core component for capacity building and the possibility of reducing the many health disparities so prevalent in AI/AN communities.
