Wy'east: An Innovative, Culturally Responsive Postbaccalaureate Pathway for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Problem: American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) face significant health disparities that are exacerbated by limited access to high-quality, culturally congruent health care providers. There are no premedical postbaccalaureate programs focused on AIAN students.

Approach: The Northwest Native American Center of Excellence designed the Wy'east Pathway in 2018 to increase the number of AIANs matriculating to U.

Recruiting American Indian/Alaska Native Students to Medical School: A Multi-Institutional Alliance in the U.S. Southwest.

Problem: Despite national efforts to diversify the physician workforce, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals have the least representation of all major racial and ethnic groups. Limited resources at state medical schools present institution-level recruitment challenges. Unified efforts to engage AI/AN students in premedical education activities are needed.

Exploring pathways to trust: a tribal perspective on data sharing.

The data-sharing policies of the National Institutes of Health aim to maximize public benefit derived from genetic studies by increasing research efficiency and use of a pooled data resource for future studies. Although broad access to data may lead to benefits for populations underrepresented in genetic studies, such as indigenous groups, tribes have ownership interest in their data. The Northwest-Alaska Pharmacogenetic Research Network, a partnership involving tribal organizations and universities conducting basic and translational pharmacogenetic research, convened a meeting to discuss the collection, management, and secondary use of research data, and of the processes surrounding access to data stored in federal repositories.

Behavioral and mental health challenges for indigenous youth: research and clinical perspectives for primary care.

After first discussing historical, community and epidemiologic perspectives pertaining to mental health problems of Indigenous youth and families, this article reviews available research data on behavioral and mental health interventions and the roles that Native and Indigenous research programs are serving. Given the legacy of transgenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples, community-based research and treatment methods are essential for solving these problems. The primary care provider stands in a unique position within the community to offer a "coinvestigator spirit" to youth and families in the pursuit of improving behavioral health.

Supports and obstacles in the medical school application process for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Purpose: This study examines how a wide range of supports and obstacles are associated with the medical school admissions process of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), an under-studied population.

Method: All AI/AN applicants to the University of Washington School of Medicine during the 2002-2004 admissions cycles were sent a mail-in survey with numerical and open-ended items. We analyzed admissions data for all 107 applicants and data on supports and obstacles for 34 survey respondents.

American Indians and Alaska Natives: how do they find their path to medical school?

Background: American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) remain underrepresented in the medical profession. This study sought to understand the supports and barriers that AI/AN students encountered on their path to successful medical school entry.

Method: The research team analyzed qualitative semistructured, one-on-one, confidential interviews with 10 AI/AN medical students to identify salient support and barrier themes.

Meeting the needs of regional minority groups: the University of Washington's programs to increase the American Indian and Alaskan native physician workforce.

Minority populations in the United States are growing rapidly, but physician workforce diversity has not kept pace with the needs of underserved communities. Minorities comprised 26.4% of the population in 1995; by 2050, these groups will comprise nearly half.