American Indian Wellness through Research Engagement (AIWRE)

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Program Summary: NWIC-AIWRE Overall The proposed Northwest Indian College-American Indian Wellness through Research Engagement (NWIC- AIWRE) is in response to PAR-16-297, Native American Research Centers for Health (S06). The purpose overall of the NWIC-AIWRE is to create new models and solutions for reducing AIAN health disparities by enhancing existing partnerships with local tribes and public health agencies as well as by developing new partnerships with research intensive institutions having demonstrated outstanding records of AIAN engagement in community-based and led approaches. NWIC-AIWRE projects reflect local AIAN health and educational values in: (a) developing interventions that promote resilience in reducing and preventing opioid use disorder (OUD); (b) educating public health staff about local AIAN health beliefs, practices and priorities so they can be translated into meaningful public health policy and interventions; and (c) developing educational programs based on the community values, needs and interests of local AIAN individuals in order to attract AIAN students into careers in health disparities research. The NWIC-AIWRE brings together successful leaders in AIAN research in an effort to increase capacity at the local level for research focused on addressing AIAN health disparities and wellness and increasing AIAN student engagement in research in ways that lead to their involvement in STEM degrees and health disparities research careers. Based on prior successful research, the foundation for the proposed NWIC-AIWRE is that sustainable community-research partnerships rely on respectful communication and bi-directional translation of tribal and scientific knowledge into practices, methods and approaches with direct and apparent benefits for the communities. Overall specific aims (SA) of the NWIC-AIWRE are to use this approach to: SA1: Establish an Administrative Core to conduct partnership outreach and maintain responsive and culturally respectful relationships with community and research partners and provide community engagement, data, and fiscal support for the student researcher careers enhancement project and research projects. SA2: Develop a model for placing AIAN students into health disparities research career pathways by implementing the NWIC Launching Enterprise and Advanced Degrees in Health Research (LEADHR) project. SA3: Develop a model for communicating tribal health beliefs, values, and priorities to public health decision makers by implementing the Swinomish Tribal Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in Public Health project. SA4: Develop a model for translating community and cultural strengths into health interventions and clinical practices by implementing the Native Transformations Opioid Project (NTOP). The overall intended outcomes of the NWIC-AIWRE are to position AIAN Tribal Colleges, tribes, and community members as leaders in culturally responsive and respectful research aligned with local priorities to develop more effective strategies for reducing health disparities and increasing AIAN wellness and resilience.