The use of patient navigation to transition detoxification patients to substance use treatment in the Alaska Interior.

Objectives: Detoxification clinics manage acute intoxication and withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs. At discharge, patients are referred to treatment, yet many are readmitted to detoxification, creating a "revolving door" of discharges and admissions. This pattern disproportionately affects some groups such as Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) people.

Classification of Students by Race and Hispanic/Latino/a/x Ethnicity Impacts Estimates of the Prevalence of Substance Use.

Multiracial and Hispanic/Latino/a/x youth are rapidly growing populations in the United States. When considered in substance use studies, they are often treated as homogeneous groups despite important demographic and cultural differences. The current study explores how substance use prevalence may differ depending on how precisely race and ethnicity groups are categorized.

Factors associated with readmission to alcohol and opioid detoxification in the Alaska Interior.

Background And Objectives: A "revolving door" of repeated admissions to detoxification treatment facilities has long plagued alcohol and drug use patients, yet few studies examine factors associated with readmission. This study examined risk factors for readmission to alcohol and opioid detoxification in a sample from the Alaska Interior.

Methods: Data were extracted from electronic medical records for admissions between 2012 and 2016 at an inpatient detoxification facility in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Diabetes Prevention and Care Capacity at Urban Indian Health Organizations.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people suffer a disproportionate burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Urban Indian Health Organizations (UIHOs) are an important source of diabetes services for urban AI/AN people. Two evidence-based interventions-diabetes prevention (DP) and healthy heart (HH)-have been implemented and evaluated primarily in rural, reservation settings.

Health outcomes in a national sample of American Indian and Alaska Native adults: Differences between multiple-race and single-race subgroups.

Objectives: To determine differences among multi-race (MR) American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIAN), single race (SR) AIANs, and SR-Whites on multiple health outcomes. We tested the following hypotheses: MR-AIANs will have worse health outcomes than SR-AIANs; SR-AIANs will have worse health outcomes than SR-Whites; MR-AIANs will have worse health outcomes than SR-Whites.

Methods: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data were used to examine general health, risk behaviors, access to health care, and diagnosed chronic health conditions.

Rural and Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Veteran Health Disparities: a Population-Based Study.

The health service ecology varies considerably across urban-rural divides for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) veterans, which may place rural AIAN veterans at high risk for poor health outcomes. Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2011 and 2012 data for its detailed race information, we employed adjusted multinomial logistical regression analyses to estimate differences in health outcomes among rural AIAN veterans (n = 1500) and urban AIAN veterans (n = 1567). We used rural White (n = 32,316) and urban White (n = 59,849) veteran samples as comparators.

The Impact of Individual and Parental American Indian Boarding School Attendance on Chronic Physical Health of Northern Plains Tribes.

This study investigated the relationship of American Indian boarding school attendance and chronic physical health. We hypothesized boarding school attendance would be associated with an increased number of chronic physical health problems. We also examined the relationship between boarding school attendance and the 15 chronic health problems that formed the count of the chronic health conditions.

Spirituality and mental health status among Northern Plain tribes.

Spirituality measures often show positive associations with preferred mental health outcomes in the general population; however, research among American Indians (AIs) is limited. We examined the relationships of mental health status and two measures of spirituality - the Midlife Development Inventory (MIDI) and a tribal cultural spirituality measure - in Northern Plains AIs, aged 15-54 ( = 1636). While the MIDI was unassociated with mental health status, the tribal cultural spirituality measure showed a significant relationship with better mental health status.

Mental health burden in a national sample of American Indian and Alaska Native adults: differences between multiple-race and single-race subgroups.

Purpose: Research on American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) mental health disparities is based largely on either tribal populations or national samples of adults that do not account for multiracial AIANs, even though over 40% of AIANs identify with multiple racial groups. The present investigation extends this research by assessing mental health status in a national sample of multiracial AIAN adults relative to adults who identify exclusively as either AIAN or White.

Methods: 2012 BRFSS data were used to conduct multinomial logistic regression analyses comparing mental health outcomes among respondents who identified as either AIAN and one or more other races (AIAN-MR), AIAN-Single Race (AIAN-SR), or White-SR.

The relationship of five boarding school experiences and physical health status among Northern Plains Tribes.

Purpose: American Indian (AI) boarding school attendance is related to poor physical health status; however, little is known about how specific aspects of this experience contribute to poor health. Five experiences (age of first attendance, limited family visits, forced church attendance, prohibition on practicing AI culture and traditions, and punishment for use of AI language) may be independently associated with physical health status in adulthood. We expected the effect to be greater for those who began boarding school at older ages.

Alcohol detoxification completion, acceptance of referral to substance abuse treatment, and entry into substance abuse treatment among Alaska Native people.

Background: Little is known about factors associated with detoxification treatment completion and the transition to substance abuse treatment following detoxification among Alaska Native people. This study examined 3 critical points on the substance abuse continuum of care (alcohol detoxification completion, acceptance of referral to substance abuse treatment, entry into substance abuse treatment following detoxification).

Methods: The retrospective cohort included 383 adult Alaska Native patients admitted to a tribally owned and managed inpatient detoxification unit.

Gender differences among Alaska Native people seeking alcohol withdrawal treatment.

Background: Few studies focus on gender differences among patients who utilize detoxification services; even fewer focus on detoxification for Alaska Native people. This analysis focused on gender differences at admission among a sample of Alaska Native patients seeking alcohol withdrawal treatment.

Methods: The sample included 383 adult Alaska Native patients admitted to an inpatient alcohol detoxification unit during 2006 and 2007.

Impact of adaptive functioning on readmission to alcohol detoxification among Alaska Native People.

Background: This study examined predictors associated with readmission to detoxification in a sample of adult Alaska Native patients admitted to inpatient alcohol detoxification. Even though Alaska Native people diagnosed with alcoholism have been identified as frequent utilizers of the health care system and at elevated risk of death, little is known about factors associated with readmission to detoxification for this group.

Methods: We sought to predict readmission using a retrospective cohort study.