The WPRN (WWAMI Region Practice and Research Network) has started their new DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) initiative known as Project Alaska. Project Alaska aims to build connections and reduce disparities.
The ITHS profile series is meant to shine a deserving spotlight on individuals or programs within ITHS doing critical work across the vast spectrum of translational science. In our June installment, we are focusing on the promising new DEIA initiative from WPRN, Project Alaska. The goal of Project Alaska is to enhance healthcare for Alaskans, including Native populations, by fostering research collaborations with primary care practices.
Now, Project Alaska aims to engage primary care clinics across the largest state in the nation to better understand and address the unique healthcare challenges faced there. For scope, in 2022, the state of Alaska had a population of just over 733,000 people, spread over an area more than twice as large as the state of Texas. While improvements have been made in recent years, Alaska is still underrepresented in research – an issue identified during a recent Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) discussion within WPRN. That conversation highlighted the need for improved research representation in Alaska, which then led to the formation of this project.
The project’s target audience includes diverse Alaskan communities, with a particular emphasis on rural and frontier areas that are often underrepresented in translational research. Initial efforts are statewide, initially broad but expected to become more focused on regions with smaller and harder to reach populations.