252 - Empowering Indigenous Voices and Values in Community Needs Assessments: A Roundtable Discussion

Abstract Information: In December 2023, All Nations Health Center (All Nations), an Urban Indian Health Organization located in Missoula, Montana, completed a community needs assessment to better align services with the needs of the urban Indigenous community of Missoula. Community needs assessments are vital for informing healthcare policies and programs, yet they often overlook Indigenous perspectives and values. A central guiding standard for this needs assessment process was giving Indigenous values as much weight as scientific methods. In this roundtable discussion, using the All Nations needs assessment as a real-world organizational example, participants will explore how Indigenous values and cultural rigor can be integrated into the needs assessment process hand-in-hand with scientific methods to ensure a more holistic, strengths-based, and culturally responsive approach. The presenters will discuss the advantages of being insiders and possessing cross-functional expertise, enabling them to effectively engage stakeholders, gather diverse perspectives, and collect relevant data. Ultimately, this approach empowered the voices of the community and ensured that their views were well-represented. Participants are encouraged to join in a discussion and an exchange of ideas on the importance of integrating Indigenous values and cultural rigor into community needs assessments, as well as challenges, opportunities, experiences, examples, and relevant strategies for further exploration of this topic. By sharing insights, challenges, and best practices, participants will collaboratively explore ways to enhance the relevance, validity, and effectiveness of evaluation processes in addressing the needs of Indigenous communities.