Adapting a Financial Incentives Intervention for Smoking Cessation With Alaska Native Families: Phase 1 Qualitative Research to Inform the Aniqsaaq (To Breathe) Study.

Introduction: Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) peoples in Alaska currently experience a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality from tobacco cigarette use. Financial incentives for smoking cessation are evidence-based, but a family-level incentive structure has not been evaluated. We used a community-based participatory research and qualitative approach to culturally adapt a smoking cessation intervention with ANAI families.

Alaska Native Parents' Decision-Making About Food, Beverages, and Screen Time for Young Children: Formative Insights From the "Got Neqpiaq?" Project.

With rising childhood obesity rates, ensuring children adopt healthy habits early is imperative. Given the unique context for Alaska Native families living in rural remote communities, who are concurrently experiencing changes in traditional practices, we investigated what impacts parents' decisions as they relate to daily living before revising a preschool curriculum focused on healthy habits. The objective of this study was to explore factors influencing parents' decisions about their children's foods, beverages, and activities.

Aniqsaaq (To Breathe): Study protocol to develop and evaluate an Alaska Native family-based financial incentive intervention for smoking cessation.

Background: Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) communities in Alaska are disproportionately affected by commercial tobacco use. Financial incentive interventions promote cigarette smoking cessation, but family-level incentives have not been evaluated. We describe the study protocol to adapt and evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a remotely delivered, family-based financial incentive intervention for cigarette smoking among Alaskan ANAI people.

Obesity Prevalence and Dietary Factors Among Preschool-Aged Head Start Children in Remote Alaska Native Communities: Baseline Data from the "" Study.

American Indian and Alaska Native preschool-aged children experience a high prevalence of obesity, yet are under-represented in obesity prevention research. This study examined obesity prevalence and dietary risk factors among Alaska Native preschool-aged children in southwest Alaska. The study used baseline data from "" a culturally centered multilevel intervention focused on Yup'ik Alaska Native children, aged 3-5 years, enrolled in Head Start in 12 communities in southwest Alaska ( = 155).

Exploring the perceived effectiveness and cultural acceptability of COVID-19 relevant social media intervention content among Alaska Native people who Smoke: The CAN Quit study.

Social media platforms have potential for reach and effectiveness to motivate smoking cessation and use of evidence-based cessation treatment, even during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This study builds on our prior community participatory approach to developing content postings for the CAN Quit Facebook intervention among Alaska Native (AN) people who smoke. With input from a community advisory committee, we selected new content on COVID-19 preventive practices (e.

Impact of a Prenatal Vitamin D Supplementation Program on Vitamin D Deficiency, Rickets and Early Childhood Caries in an Alaska Native Population.

Background: Early childhood rickets increased in Alaska Native children after decreases in vitamin D-rich subsistence diet in childbearing-aged women. We evaluated the impact of routine prenatal vitamin D supplementation initiated in Alaska’s Yukon Kuskokwim Delta in Fall 2016. Methods: We queried electronic health records of prenatal women with 25(OH) vitamin D testing during the period 2015−2019.

Facebook Intervention to Connect Alaska Native People With Resources and Support to Quit Smoking: CAN Quit Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: There is some evidence that social media interventions can promote smoking cessation. This randomized controlled pilot study is the first to evaluate the feasibility and potential efficacy of a Facebook smoking cessation intervention among Alaska Native (AN) adults.

Aims And Methods: Recruitment and data collection occurred from December 2019 to March 2021.

The Effect of Tobacco Use on the Expression of Placental Transporters in Alaska Native Women.

Prenatal tobacco use among Alaska Native (AN) women has decreased substantially over the past two decades. Previous research suggests that providing AN women with feedback regarding fetal exposure to tobacco may further promote cessation. Transporters in the placenta regulate fetal exposure to nutrients and xenobiotics, including compounds associated with tobacco use.

Lessons Learned From Beta-Testing a Facebook Group Prototype to Promote Treatment Use in the "Connecting Alaska Native People to Quit Smoking" (CAN Quit) Study.

Social media provides an effective tool to reach, engage, and connect smokers in cessation efforts. Our team developed a Facebook group, CAN Quit (Connecting Alaska Native People to Quit smoking), to promote use of evidence-based smoking cessation resources for Alaska Native people living in Alaska, which are underused despite their effectiveness. Often separated by geography and climate, Alaska Native people prefer group-based approaches for tobacco cessation that support their culture and values.

Impact of Assistance Programs on Indigenous Ways of Life in 12 Rural Remote Western Alaska Native Communities: Elder Perspectives Shared in Formative Work for the "Got Neqpiaq?" Project.

For more than 50 years, government programmes in the USA have been in place to help those in need have consistent access to food and education. However, questions have surfaced regarding whether or not these support impact traditional ways, such as cultural activities, food preferences, and overall health, particularly for Indigenous populations. In this paper, we share insights voiced by Alaska Native Elders in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska and their perceptions of regulations, assistance, and the impact government assistance programmes have had on their culture.

Alaska Native Elders' perspectives on dietary patterns in rural, remote communities.

Background: Given the increasing rates of childhood obesity in Alaska Native children and the understanding that the most effective interventions are informed by and reflect the cultural knowledge of the community in which they are implemented, this project sought to gather the wisdom of local Yup'ik and Cup'ik Elders in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska around how to maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle.

Methods: Perspectives were sought through the use of semi-structured focus groups, which were completed in person in twelve communities. All conversations were recorded, translated, transcribed, and analyzed using a qualitative approach, where key themes were identified.

Dietary fibre to reduce colon cancer risk in Alaska Native people: the Alaska FIRST randomised clinical trial protocol.

Introduction: Diet, shown to impact colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, is a modifiable environmental factor. Fibre foods fermented by gut microbiota produce metabolites that not only provide food for the colonic epithelium but also exert regulatory effects on colonic mucosal inflammation and proliferation. We describe methods used in a double-blinded, randomised, controlled trial with Alaska Native (AN) people to determine if dietary fibre supplementation can substantially reduce CRC risk among people with the highest reported CRC incidence worldwide.

Storekeeper perspectives on improving dietary intake in 12 rural remote western Alaska communities: the "Got Neqpiaq?" project.

Low intake of fruits and vegetables and high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages persists as a public health concern in rural remote Alaska Native (AN) communities. Conducting key informant interviews with 22 storekeepers in 12 communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of Alaska, we explored potential factors impeding or facilitating dietary change towards healthier food choices. We selected these sites as part of a multi-level intervention aimed at introducing more traditional AN subsistence foods, increasing fruit and vegetable intake, and decreasing SSB consumption among young children enrolled in Head Start (preschool) programmes (Clinicaltrials.

Developing a Social Media Intervention to Connect Alaska Native People Who Smoke with Resources and Support to Quit Smoking: The Connecting Alaska Native Quit Study.

Background: Face-to-face tobacco cessation has had limited reach and efficacy in Alaska Native (AN) communities. We describe our two-phased approach to develop content for Connecting Alaska Native People to Quit Smoking, a Facebook group intervention to reduce barriers to evidence-based smoking cessation treatment for AN people in Alaska.

Methods: Phase 1 included semi-structured telephone interviews with 30 AN people who smoke and ten stakeholders.

Using electronic dental records to establish a surveillance system for dental decay in rural Western Alaska.

Objectives: Previous surveys have demonstrated high rates of early childhood caries (ECC) in the Alaska Native (AN) population of western Alaska. There are many challenges to providing dental care in this road-less Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. The regional Tribal Health Organization implemented an electronic dental record (EDR) system in the late 1990s.

Social Media Intervention to Promote Smoking Treatment Utilization and Cessation Among Alaska Native People Who Smoke: Protocol for the Connecting Alaska Native People to Quit Smoking (CAN Quit) Pilot Study.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of tobacco use among Alaska Native (AN) people, tobacco cessation interventions developed specifically for this group are lacking. Social media hold promise as a scalable intervention strategy to promote smoking treatment utilization and cessation, given the barriers to treatment delivery (ie, geographic remoteness, limited funding, climate, and travel costs) in the state of Alaska (AK). Building on a longstanding tobacco control research partnership with the AK Tribal Health System, in this study, we are developing and pilot-testing a culturally relevant, Facebook (FB)-delivered intervention that incorporates a digital storytelling approach adapted from the effective Centers for Disease Control Tips from Former Smokers campaign.

Lack of in-home piped water and reported consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among adults in rural Alaska.

Objective: To assess whether a community water service is associated with the frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption, obesity, or perceived health status in rural Alaska.

Design: We examined the cross-sectional associations between community water access and frequency of SSB consumption, body mass index categories, and perceived health status using data from the 2013 and 2015 Alaska Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Participants were categorized by zip code to 'in-home piped water service' or 'no in-home piped water service' based on water utility data.

Postpartum Tobacco Use and Perceived Stress among Alaska Native Women: MAW Phase 4 Study.

Prior research explored reasons for tobacco use among pregnant Alaska Native (AN) women but did not address the postpartum period. This study followed up with AN women one to three years postpartum who had participated in a prenatal smoking cessation intervention study (Motivate Alaska Women (MAW) Phase 3) and had consented to be re-contacted for future studies. Of 47 eligible women, 32 (68%) participated.

Biomarker feedback intervention for smoking cessation among Alaska Native pregnant women: Randomized pilot study.

Objective: There is some evidence for biomarker feedback when combined with cessation counseling for reducing smoking in pregnancy. This randomized controlled pilot study evaluated feasibility and potential efficacy of a social-cognitive theory (SCT)-based biomarker feedback intervention among pregnant Alaska Native (AN) smokers.

Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to receive three study calls (10-20 min each): (1) biomarker feedback intervention (n = 30) including personalized cotinine results and feedback on their baby's likely exposure to carcinogen metabolite NNAL, or (2) contact control usual care condition based on the 5As (n = 30).

Urine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3) pyridyl-1-butanol and cotinine in Alaska native postpartum women and neonates comparing smokers and smokeless tobacco users.

Objective: Foetuses and neonates of women who use tobacco are exposed to nicotine and tobacco-derived carcinogens. We determined the relationship between urine biomarkers of tobacco toxicant exposure postpartum and in the neonates of Alaska Native (AN) women, comparing smokers and smokeless tobacco (ST) users, including iqmik, a homemade ST product.

Methods: AN women, including 36 smokers, 9 commercial ST and 16 iqmik users their neonates participated.

Adverse fetal and infant outcomes among HIV-infected women who received either nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based or protease inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy for prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

Background: For HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is known to reduce the mother's risk of passing the infection to her child. However, concerns remain about possible associations between various components of different ART regimens and adverse fetal and infant outcomes. As part of a clinical trial in western Kenya for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, pregnant women received one of two different ART regimens.

The search for an alternative to piped water and sewer systems in the Alaskan Arctic.

Forty-two communities in rural Alaska are considered unserved or underserved with water and sewer infrastructure. Many challenges exist to provide centralized piped water and sewer infrastructure to the homes, and they are exacerbated by decreasing capital funding. Unserved communities in rural Alaska experience higher rates of disease, supporting the recommendation that sanitation infrastructure should be provided.