NIH Tribal Consultation on the Opioid Crisis in Indian Country
Tribal leaders and public health experts attended a Tribal Consultation and listening session with federal representatives at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Indian Health Service (IHS), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to discuss the opioid crisis in Native American communities including challenges, strategies, and promising practices for opioid intervention in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. NIH compiled highlighted activities relating to the seven themes that emerged in consultation:
- Support for Tribes and Tribal research teams to address behavioral health and substance use.
- Support for culturally-adapted research in opioid use disorder (OUD), medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and behavioral health programming.
- The need for Tribal consultation on NIH funding, regulatory changes, and the government-to-government relationship between Tribes and the federal government.
- Expanding support for research in cultural wisdom and practices, and traditional medicines.
- Support for research in trauma and resilience in behavioral health and substance use and abuse in Tribal communities.
- Support for health research with data collection and analysis systems aligned with varying capacity and priorities of Tribal health organizations and AI/AN communities.
- Support for research in culturally appropriate prevention and awareness activities of behavioral health and substance use among Tribal youth.
- Support for Tribes and Tribal research teams to address behavioral health and substance use.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| The Native Children's Research Exchange Scholars Program: Preparing the Next Generation of American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse and Addiction Scientists | Support to continue Native health research training Program in substance abuse and addiction | NIDA |
| NCRE II: Native Children's Development in the Context of Substance Use | Native Children’s Research Exchange investing in research teams with a specific focus on understanding Native children’s development within the context of substance use | NIDA |
| Mentoring Diverse Scientists in HIV Research on Substance Abuse and Mental Health | Award to support & mentor a multi-disciplinary and socio-demographically diverse group of early career investigators in behavioral aspects of HIV research with ethnic and sexual minority populations with an emphasis in Native HIV research | NIDA |
| The NIDA Summer Research Internship Program | The NIDA Summer Research Internship Program supports undergraduate students with a focus on increasing underrepresented populations in drug abuse and addiction research. | NIDA |
| Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (IRINAH): A network of principal investigators and their partners. | Training Network for Interventions for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Native American (NA) Populations | Multiple ICOs |
| Environmental Monitoring and Interpretation Fac/Ser Core (FSC) | Research aimed at building local capacity and answering tribally driven research questions. Investigator development core to train tribal researchers. | NIEHS |
| Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research | The Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research program is a collaborative support of scientific investigations of disease conditions and health disparate populations. | NIEHS, NIMHD, EPA |
| Understanding the Intersection Between Opioids and Suicide through the Southwest Hub | Collaborative research program examining the intersection between opioids and suicide in American Indians/Alaska Natives | NIMH |
| Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) | The NARCH program supports opportunities for conducting research and career enrichment to meet health needs prioritized by American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes or tribally-based organizations. | NIGMS, IHS, Multiple ICOs |
| Health Disparities in Tribal Communities Summer Internship Program (HDTC-SIP) | Training / Internship providing summer internship opportunities and career development experiences for tribal scholars from college freshmen through post-doctoral levels in intramural labs at the NIH. | NINDS, NIMHD, THRO |
| Mahina Project: International Indigenous Health Research Training Program | The Mahina Health Research Training program provides health research training to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students from Indigenous populations. | NIMHD |
- Support for culturally-adapted research in opioid use disorder (OUD), medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and behavioral health programming.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| Changing Our Paths: Well-Being and Recovery Among American Indians with Opioid use Disorder | Research investigating using cultural knowledge and practices within OUD treatment can reduce opioid-related health inequities experienced by AI/AN communities. | NIDA |
| Optimizing Implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment for American Indians and Alaska Natives | Research emphasizing community-based principles to study implementation of medication assisted treatment (MAT) in AI/AN communities. | NIDA |
| Culturally Centered MAT for OUD Implementation Facilitation for Primary Care and Addiction Treatment Programs Serving | Clinical Trials Network study on culturally adapted implementation of MAT | NIDA |
| Knowledge of and Attitudes about Medication Assisted Treatment within American Indian Communities | Clinical Trials Network supplement to study barriers to MAT within American Indian Communities | NIDA |
| Counseling for Harm Reduction and Retention in Medication-Assisted Treatment - Cherokee Nation (CHARRM-CN) | Research to culturally adapt and evaluate Counseling for Harm Reduction and Retention in MAT | NIDA |
| Opioid Overdose Surveillance Funding from the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center to Create Tribal Data and Culturally Center Medications for Opioid Use Disorder | Research to address treatment need and culturally adapted treatment options | NIDA |
| The HEAL program will address research questions related to the use of suboxone | Novel Medication Development to Prevent and Treat Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose | NIDA/NIH |
| Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) | Research to examine the effectiveness of a culturally adapted Community Reinforcement and Family Training to increase treatment engagement | NIDA |
| Research to understand and reduce disparities in opioid care; and to determine the mechanisms for the variation in the prevalence of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in U.S. health disparity populations. | R01 Addressing the Challenges of the Opioid Epidemic in Minority Health and Health Disparities Research in the U.S. | NIMHD |
| Behavioral Research to Improve Medication-based Treatment (BRIM) program aimed at improving medication outcomes through the BRIM program. | R01/R61/SAMHSA (Opioid STR/BRIM-1): research on effectiveness of combining medications with a wide range of evidence-based behavioral interventions in diverse groups of patients | NCCIH / NIDA |
| Diversity Supplement to Expand the Southwest Hub for Suicide Prevention Research to Fort Peck Indian Reservation | Research that uses traditional knowledge to support community resilience in prevention of youth suicide and in the development of culturally appropriate interventions | NIMH, NIMHD |
| Qasgiq: Dissemination Using Yup-ik Indigenous Implementation Strategies | Research that engages multiple AIAN communities to address community driven research questions through the use of traditional knowledge and cultural practices. | NIMHD |
| Development of a Tool to Improve Evaluation of Patient Navigation Services in Underserved Populations | Research to improve evaluation of patient navigation services in underserved populations and create tracking and documentation app to improve evaluation of patient navigation activities | NIMHD |
- The need for Tribal consultation on NIH funding, regulatory changes, and the government-to-government relationship between Tribes and the federal government.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| NIH All of Us Tribal Consultation and Engagement | All of Us is engaged in a Tribal consultation process and seeking input from Tribal leaders on the best way to work with Tribal Nations. | All of Us |
| NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP) 2019 Tribal Consultation on Data Sharing and Management | NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP) holds formal Tribal Consultation in Regional Consultation locations on the development of the NIH Data Sharing and Management Policy | OSP |
| NIH 2019 Tribal Consultation on Intellectual Property in Biomedical Research | NIH Annual Tribal Consultation in alignment with NCAI Mid-Year Conference in Sparks, NV to gather meaningful input on Intellectual Property in Biomedical Research. | NIH, THRO |
- Expanding support for research in cultural wisdom and practices, and traditional medicines.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| Enhancing the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network to Address Opioids | Clinical Trials Network (CTN) | NIDA, OD |
| Addressing the Challenges of the Opioid Epidemic in Minority Health and Health Disparities Research in the U.S. | NIH Funding opportunity announcement recognizing the value and applicability of integrating traditional practice into recovery | NIMHD, ORWH, NIA, NIAAA, NICHD, NIDA |
| Culturally Centered MAT for OUD Implementation Facilitation for Primary Care and Addiction Treatment Programs Serving American Indian/Alaska Natives | Enhancing the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network to Address Opioids | NIDA |
| NIH 2019 Traditional Medicine Summit: Maintaining and Protecting Culture through Healing | The THRO, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and the CDC held the 2019 Traditional Medicine Summit. | THRO, NCCIH, CDC, IHS |
- Support for research in trauma and resilience in behavioral health and substance use and abuse in Tribal communities.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| Improving Chronic Illness Management with the Apsaalooke Nation: The Baa Nnilah Project | Research in community-developed and culturally centered interventions for change and community-based participatory research approach in a partnership with the Apsáalooke American Indian Nation. | NIMHD |
| The Whole Health Study: Collaborative Care for OUD and Mental Health Conditions | Research in optimizing collaborative care for People with Opioid Use Disorder and Mental Health Conditions | NIMH |
| Indigenous Pathways of Substance Use and Mental Health Through Early Adulthood | Research on pathways to adulthood, includes focus on historical trauma and substance abuse in AI/AN populations | NIDA |
| Intertribal Talking Circle for the Prevention of Substance Abuse in Native Youth | Research to evaluate an after-school substance abuse prevention intervention, the Intertribal Talking Circle (ITC). | NIDA |
- Support for health research with data collection and analysis systems aligned with varying capacity and priorities of Tribal health organizations and AI/AN communities.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| Characterizing Disparities and Elucidating Opportunities Across the Cervical Cancer Continuum Among Native American Women | Research to reduce racial misclassification, assess treatment disparities, and examine service delivery for cervical cancer among American India/Alaska Native women. | NIMHD |
| NIMHD Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training (MHRT) Program | The Program supports research training activities in minority health and health disparities research for individuals who are from diverse groups underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research. | NIMHD |
| A Tribal Epicenter Collaboration to Improve the Use of Motor Vehicle Injury Data | Research and evaluation to enhance data quality for the 43 North West Indian Tribes, including motor vehicle injury related information. | NIMHD |
| Arthritis and Autoimmune Disease Epidemiology and Impact in the Alaska Native Population | Tribal epidemiology center Collaborative research leveraging existing datasets to address understudied and significant health conditions in the Alaska Native population. | NIMHD |
| Impact of Navajo Nation Tax on Junk Food | Research to assess the impact of the junk food tax by utilizing several high quality and culturally specific data sources developed by the Navajo Epidemiology Center. | NIMHD |
| My Health, My Future: Promotion of Protective sexual health practices among Apache Youth and young adults. | This NARCH White Mountain Apache project builds on successful partnership to advance tribal sovereignty in health research and training. | NIAID, NIGMS |
- Support for research in culturally appropriate prevention and awareness activities of behavioral health and substance use among Tribal youth.
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| Project Title | Project Description | Administering IC |
|---|---|---|
| Development and Implementation of a Culturally Centered Opioid Prevention Intervention for American Indian/Alaska Native Young Adults in California | Research developing and implementing a culturally-centered intervention to address opioid misuse Among urban AI/AN emerging adults in California. | NIDA |
| Web-based Addiction Treatment: Cultural Adaptation with American Indians | Research to evaluate preliminary efficacy of an innovative, web-based psychosocial intervention designed to meet the specific needs of urban AI/ANs seeking treatment. | NIDA |
| Mindful Body Awareness Training as an Adjunct to Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: An Ancillary Study | Research to investigate Mindful awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) in real-world opioid use disorder treatment programs implemented through State Opioid Targeted Response program in both urban and rural settings. | NCCIH |
| Promotion of Protective sexual health practices among Apache Youth and young adults through an assets-based self-care intervention | NARCH collaborative research to advance a new line of sexual health self-care research including self-assessment, personalized messaging, and non-clinic-based alternative for STI screening | NIAID |
Please note, this page provides highlighted research and activities compiled relating to the themes that emerged in consultation. For complete lists of NIH funded research projects, please visit https://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm.
For more information on the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM Initiative, or NIH HEAL InitiativeSM , please visit https://heal.nih.gov/.
For more information on research activities supported by NIDA, please visit https://www.drugabuse.gov/. For more information on research activities supported by NIMHD, please visit https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/.