Moss earns two Book of the Year awards

Margaret Moss, assistant dean of diversity and inclusion in the School of Nursing, was honored with two 2016 Book of the Year awards from the American Journal of Nursing.

Her book, “American Indian Health and Nursing,” was awarded first place in the Professional Issues category and received second place in the Community/Public Health category.

“American Indian Health and Nursing” is the first nursing textbook on the health care needs of the nation’s 5 million American Indians. Moss’ career advocating for diversity in academia and health care delivery served as a catalyst for tailoring the text to perhaps the least-understood minority population in the U.S.

American Indians have the highest suicide rate for teens, the highest prevalence of diabetes and one of the lowest life expectancies in the United States.

In the book, Moss guides readers through nine distinct Native cultures and describes how disparities in health care policy, along with environmental and historical factors affecting the fabric of American Indian society, are responsible for the group’s lack of well-being. The content covers the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional domains of health.

Moss has published more than 15 studies on health disparities, and health policy and aging in American Indians. She is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota and is among the few American Indian nurses with a doctorate in nursing. Also an attorney, she earned a JD from Mitchell Hamline School of Law.