Alaska Center for Rural Health and Health Workforce
The Alaska Center for Rural Health & Health Workforce (ACRH-HW) is committed to strengthening
and diversifying Alaska’s health workforce, especially in rural communities and underserved
populations. The Center is composed of a variety of programs, most notably the Alaska
Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) which is composed of six regional community based
centers throughout the state. As part of the University of Alaska Anchorage's role
as the state's health campus, the Center supports health program planning, community partnership, diversity, inclusion and intercampus
collaboration. The Center provides the framework of statewide community partnerships
to support the full pipeline of health workforce development from career exploration
to health program training to continuing education.
At UAA, computer science Professor Shawn Butler has been using machine learning to debunk COVID-19 misinformation on social media. Butler’s efforts are part of the Division of Population Health Sciences and Department of Journalism and Public Communication’s mission to combat COVID-19 misinformation on public-facing Facebook pages with scientifically accurate information from credited sources through its ongoing Alaska Public Health Information Response Team project.
Founding members of the Alaska Public Health Information Response Team submitted a book chapter proposal, entitled "Addressing Health Misinformation in the Infodemic Era: The Alaska Public Health Information Response Team," in the early spring of 2021 for consideration in a forthcoming book, "Building Health Misinformation Immunity: A Professional's Guide to Helping the Public," which was recently published.
In February 2022, a team at the University of Alaska Anchorage led by Dr. Jennifer Meyer deployed a statewide survey to assess respondents' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to COVID-19 prevention strategies and specifically Long Covid or Post COVID conditions.
On June 30, the Alaska Black Caucus held the Covid & Beyond: Black Health & Wellness Town Hall at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Amana Mbise, Ph.D., an assistant professor with the School of Social Work under the College of Health, presented eye-opening findings from the first-ever Black Alaskans Health Status report.