About Peer Leader Navigators

We recognize that there is a lot of health advice out there; from "old wives tales" to websites that claim to hold health secrets. TAHLC partners teamed up with Alaska Literacy Program adult students to empower each other with reliable information pipelines and connections to community healthcare providers. Peer Leader Navigators (PLNs) serve as information beacons in their communities, connecting their friends and families to vital health tips and community resources.

The Peer Leader Navigator (PLN) program trains multilingual people to be health and wellness information promoters within their familial, social, and cultural groups. PLNs become empowered with research methods and access to trustworthy information. They, in turn, empower their communities.

PLNs have turned their experiences and education through this program into health and social service career paths in places like the YWCA, WIC, Alaska Literacy Program, and Providence Hospital.

As a result of this initiative, educators, community partners, and healthcare providers are better able to meet traditionally underrepresented community members where they are; helping to provide vital information and services across Alaska.

Mission: To breakdown barriers to health and healthcare access information for underrepresented communities in Anchorage.

Vision: A connected, healthy, and diverse community.

PLN Projects and News

(2020, Catholic Health World) Peer navigators improve health literacy of Alaskan natives and immigrants

(2019, CDC NIOSH Science Blog) Partnering to Educate English Language Learners in Alaska on Worker Safety and Health

(2019, Healio Health Journal) A Novel Approach to Improve Health Literacy in Immigrant Communities

(2016, UAA Green & Gold) Improving Health Literacy in Diverse Anchorage

(2014, UAA Green & Gold) Translating the hieroglyphics of health care

Research That Informs What We Do

Public Health Research

(2019, Healio HLRP) A Novel Approach to Improve Health Literacy in Immigrant Communities

(2018, Providence Health Journal) Anchorage Community Health Needs Assessment, Providence

Key Public Health Facts and Statistics in Alaska, Division of Public Health, Analytics & Vital Records

The Impact of Other Life Factors on Health

Presented by the National Minority Consortia of Public Television, Unnatural Causes focuses on the links between inequality and health on their interactive website.

Understanding Refugee Trauma: For Child Welfare (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network)