Background: This research was designed to understand factors influencing Motor Vehicle Crashes (MVCs) on or near the Hualapai Tribe’s reservation in northwestern Arizona. The goal is to enable the Tribe to develop and implement a locally relevant MVC intervention program. The specific aims were to: i) compile and analyze 2010-2016 MVC data from Hualapai and federal sources to assess distributions of frequency, rates, high risk-locales, causes, days, times, age and sex of the drivers, in addition to assessing related conditions; ii) document local perceptions of environmental, social, and behavioral barriers to safe driving practices, and knowledge of MVC risk factors and existing tribal laws; and iii) provide evidence-based recommendations using the results from quantitative and qualitative data analyses. Approach/Methods: The research process applied a Community-Based Participatory Research approach and mixed methods using: a) secondary data analyses of records from six tribal programs and Indian Health Service (IHS), and b) qualitative analyses of data from two focus groups and field documents. Sensitivity analyses were conducted of IHS and Tribal Driving Under the Influence (DUI) data, using the 2010 U.S. Census as the denominator after adjusting for an undercount of up to 25%. Descriptive statistics, Fisher’s Exact Test, and linear and logistic regressions were used to examine significance. MVCs per 10 miles per year were estimated for State Route 66 and Diamond Bar Road/Grand Canyon West on or near the reservation due to higher numbers of crashes. Statistical process control charts, especially g-charts monitoring time between events, were plotted to examine the stability in the number of MVCs over time for each road. NVivo11Pro© was used to code and analyze the focus group data, guided by both inductive and deductive theories. Results: Driver’s seatbelt use in the Hualapai community increased from 2010 to 2012 (p < .0005), and reported DUIs decreased from 2010 to 2016 (p = .027). Similarly, car/booster seat use improved from 2014 to 2015 (p < .0005). Two hundred and fifty (N = 250) MVC-related injuries were registered at IHS facilities for Hualapai community members between 2006 and 2015. The highest rate, 22.4%, was observed in 15- to 24-year-olds, followed by 21.6% in 55- to 64-year-olds. For several combinations of numerators and denominators, sensitivity analysis of the IHS data shows a clear disparity between the Tribe’s MVC rate compared to the 2008 U.S. rate of 771.4 nonfatal injuries per 100,000 persons and the national goal for Healthy People 2020 (694.3 nonfatal injuries/100,000 persons). The major themes emerged from qualitative analyses of the focus groups were: i) unsafe traffic infrastructures, ii) DUI, iii) repeated DUI offenders driving on the reservation, and iv) a perception of lenient tribal traffic laws and enforcement on the reservation. Using study results, five Public Service Announcements were co-developed to inspire community-members to continue the trends noted from 2010-2016 and be aware of continued risks. Conclusions: MVCs are a multidimensional issue needing communitywide awareness of the range of risk factors. An intervention that addresses human and structural risks requires an alliance of tribal programs and external partners (e.g., IHS, university, federal, and state). Recommendations: Local recommendations include providing school- and institution-based education about alcohol/alcoholism and DUI consequences, and ongoing culturally and locally relevant communitywide education through the local newsletter and radio station.

The need for mental health service is increasing in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. While research has examined the availability, access, and effectiveness of provided services to the AI/AN, very little is known about the influence of the attitude and perceptions of both clinicians and clients in their therapeutic relationship in the treatment process. Using the frameworks of liberation, oppression, and trauma theory, this qualitative phenomenological study explored mental health service delivery and utilization issues within an AI/AN community. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 14 clinician and client participants. The data were sorted into themes and subthemes and analyzed using the NVivo 11 computer software. Intergenerational struggle represented the primary theme and other subthemes such as assimilation, acculturation, and communication were among some of the secondary themes gathered from the data. Analysis of the themes provided greater insights into the dynamics of the participant's lived experience in various organizational structures within the larger community as well as a better understanding of mental health service delivery and utilization in maintaining sobriety in their daily struggles. The results indicated that intergenerational struggle along with other environmental factors were the chief causes of their cyclical journey through the penal and other systems; thus reducing their ability in maintaining longer sobriety and in improving their mental health. The implications for positive social change in this study include the reduction of stigma associated with these health issues through the education of the community and in training clinicians in factor-specific issues impacting life altering critical events in AI/AN struggles.

In the US, rural Native American communities (RNACs) experience excess morbidity in mental health disorders and mortality from opioid use disorder (OUD). This study used mixed methods to evaluate and analyze the primary data from 76 healthcare providers (HPs) from 24 states across the US (physicians = 7%), to identify HP knowledge and training regarding available prevention, treatment, and recovery (PTR) programs in treating OUD, assessment and management skills, and networking and collaboration capacity among the RNACs they serve. The HP completed the Opioid Survey for Health Care Providers online. A majority of HPs reported a need for knowledge and training regarding OUD treatments (92%). Less than half of the HPs provide intensive outpatient treatment; 40% contracted out for medication assisted treatment/medications for opioid use disorder (MAT/MOUD) services. Recovery support was low at 33% for adults and 38% for youth. HPs reported use of Narcan to be effective in reversing overdose (87%). Qualitative responses supported survey findings and described barriers, including lack of resources, inadequate staffing, insufficient funding, lack of training and OUD knowledge, stigma, and lack of tribal involvement and support. The study findings indicate HPs' need for information and training about OUD and networking and collaboration of healthcare settings to meet the needs of the RNAC they serve. Efforts are needed to improve on recovery programs with an emphasis on the youth. Culturally adapted MAT/MOUD approaches are needed to sustain long-term recovery care.

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