Centering Data Sovereignty, Tribal Values, and Practices for Equity in American Indian and Alaska Native Public Health Systems.

As the first scientists on the American continents, American Indian and Alaska Native people followed various methodologies in the pursuit of knowledge to understand and respond to complex environmental situations. Examples include data necessary to guide access to safe food and medicine as well as community roles, kinship, travel, housing, and healing for the well-being of the community. These Tribal data have been transmitted through specific practices with strict protocols such as storytelling, songs, and ceremony.

Turning Community Feedback into a Culturally Responsive Program for American Indian/Alaska Native Commercial Tobacco Users.

Background: American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) cigarette smoking prevalence is disproportionately high, especially in the northern United States. Tailored quitlines are needed to support AI/AN commercial tobacco users with quitting.

Objectives: Obtain community feedback by working with trusted AI/AN partners; genuinely incorporate feedback into program design; collaboratively develop and implement culturally relevant quitline services for Minnesota's AI/AN community.

Tribal Tobacco Use Project II: Planning, Implementation, and Dissemination Using Culturally Relevant Data Collection among American Indian Communities.

American Indians have substantially higher commercial tobacco-related cancer rates when compared to the general population. To effectively combat commercial tobacco-related cancer, it is important that tribal nations obtain current and accurate community-specific data on commercial tobacco use and exposure-related attitudes and behaviors. With the goal to collect, synthesize, and disseminate data on tobacco use, including the role traditional tobacco plays among American Indian people, the American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICAF) and various stakeholders developed and implemented the Tribal Tobacco Use Project II (TTUP II) during 2018-2021.

Influences and Practices in Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Health Care Providers Serving Northern Plains American Indians, 2011-2012.

Introduction: The epidemiology of colorectal cancer, including incidence, mortality, age of onset, stage of diagnosis, and screening, varies regionally among American Indians. The objective of the Improving Northern Plains American Indian Colorectal Cancer Screening study was to improve understanding of colorectal cancer screening among health care providers serving Northern Plains American Indians.

Methods: Data were collected, in person, from a sample of 145 health care providers at 27 health clinics across the Northern Plains from May 2011 through September 2012.

Designing and evaluating culturally specific smoking cessation interventions for American Indian communities.

Introduction: American Indians have the highest smoking rates in the United States, yet few randomized controlled trials of culturally specific interventions exist. This study assessed American Indians' opinions about evidence-based treatment and attitudes toward participating in clinical trials.

Methods: Six focus groups were conducted based on smoking status (current/former smoker), sex, and elder status (55 years and older or younger).

Cigarette smoking among American Indian youth in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Background: Reported prevalence of cigarette smoking among American Indian youth is higher than other racial/ethnic minorities, and limited data indicate that this disparity is especially pronounced in the Upper Midwest of the U.S. The purposes of this study are to measure traditional and recreational tobacco use among American Indian youth in an urban Upper Midwest area, and to identify social and environmental factors associated with recreational tobacco use (cigarette smoking).

American Indian breastfeeding attitudes and practices in Minnesota.

Objectives: We examined the breastfeeding attitudes and practices in an American Indian population in Minnesota.

Methods: We interviewed women prenatally (n = 380), at 2-weeks (n = 342) and at 6-months postpartum (n = 256). We conducted multivariable analyses to examine the demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal correlates of breastfeeding initiation and duration.

Native Teen Voices: adolescent pregnancy prevention recommendations.

Purpose: American Indian adolescent pregnancy rates are high, yet little is known about how Native youth view primary pregnancy prevention. The aim was to identify pregnancy prevention strategies from the perspectives of both male and female urban Native youth to inform program development.

Methods: Native Teen Voices (NTV) was a community-based participatory action research study in Minneapolis and St.

Patterns of tobacco use in a sample of American Indians in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of tobacco initiation, current use, and smoking cessation and their correlates in the adult American Indian population in the Twin Cities, using community-based participatory research methods. A total of 300 American Indians aged 18 years or older participated in in-person interviews. Participants were recruited to fill age-gender quotas that reflect the demographic distribution of American Indians in Minnesota.

Early otitis media among Minnesota American Indians: the Little Ears Study.

Objectives: We examined relationships between otitis media risk factors, sociodemographic characteristics, and maternal knowledge and attitudes and early onset of otitis media.

Methods: Pregnant women from Minnesota American Indian reservations and an urban clinic were enrolled in our study between 1998 and 2001. Follow-up was performed on enrollees' infants until the children were 2 years old.

Environmental, social, and personal correlates of having ever had sexual intercourse among American Indian youths.

Objectives: We examined the correlates of having ever had sexual intercourse among American Indians aged 13 to 18 years in Minnesota.

Methods: To assess key environmental, social, and individual correlates of sexual experience, we analyzed data from 4135 American Indian youths who participated in the 1998 and 2001 Minnesota Student Surveys.

Results: Forty-two percent of those aged 13 to 15 years and 69% of those aged 16 to 18 years reported that they had ever had sexual intercourse.