Developing capacity for the American Indian health professional workforce: an academic-community partnership in Spirit Lake, North Dakota.

Background: American Indians/Alaskan Native (AIAN) populations experience significant disparities in health when compared to the average US population who are under-represented in the health care professional workforce. Current research suggests that racial concordance between patients and providers has a positive effect on patient care.

Objective: We describe a successful academic-community partnership between a tribal college, a local state academic center, an urban public health institution, and an urban academic center all aligned with the goal to increase AIAN health care professional capacity.