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The COVID-19 pandemic compounds stressors of daily life among American Indian/Alaska Natives. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 among American Indian/Alaska Natives and non-Hispanic whites by examining depressive symptoms, overall stress, resilience, and coping, utilizing the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. Of the 207 individuals participating in this study, 109 identified as American Indian/Alaska Native and 98 as non-Hispanic white. Despite demographic similarities, American Indian/Alaska Natives exhibited more stressors related to COVID-19 as well as higher depressive symptom scores compared to non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, COVID-19 stressors were more positively correlated with depressive symptoms for American Indian/Alaska Natives than non-Hispanic whites. For American Indian/Alaska Natives, the predominant coping processes identified were planful problem solving, escape-avoidance, and self-controlling. This study provides data to support programs and policies centered on improving the psychosocial health for American Indians/Alaska Natives and decreasing COVID-19-related health disparities.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the closure of schools, prompting 93% of U.S. households with children to transition to remote schooling. This study investigates coping mechanisms used by parents and the emotional impact of remote schooling on their well-being. A cross-sectional online survey, grounded in the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, was conducted among 133 U.S. parents with children engaged in remote schooling from May to October 2020. Pearson correlations and paired sample t-tests were calculated. Multiple regression was performed to determine how well stress, resilience, and gender predict depressive symptoms. The study participants had an average of 1.96 children. Most commonly used coping mechanisms included planful problem-solving, seeking social support, and escape/avoidance. A statistically significant positive association was found between stress and depressive symptoms. Stress and depressive symptoms increased during the pandemic, while resilience decreased. The resulting statistically significant regression model of stress, resilience, and gender accounted for 75.4% of the variability in depressive symptoms. These results underscore the importance of addressing parental well-being and mental health during times of crisis, particularly when children are engaged in remote schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes is a prevalent disease in the United States. The emergence of Type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents within the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities brings increased public health and quality of life concerns. In this article, the authors describe an initiative titled "Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools K-12 Curriculum Project" to address the epidemic rates of Type 2 diabetes among AI/AN populations. The qualitative lesson plan's purpose is to introduce and promote ethnographic research skills among students. Working in teams of two, students developed investigation questions and then practiced observation and data collection skills among their peers. Adult community members volunteered to come to campus to participate in student interviews. Through the interview process, students acquired research skills, presentation experience, and constructed new understandings. In addition, students were able to glimpse, in a very personal way, how this disease is affecting their community and what their role might be in preventing the growth of this epidemic. (Contains 1 figure.)

Ethnic minorities are expected to experience a greater demand for family caregiving than non-Latino Whites due to their projected population growth. Although the consensus of researchers on caregiving and culture finds that the caregiving experience differs significantly among cultural/ethnic groups, the question remains as to how cultural values and norms influence the caregiver experiences. We conducted an interpretative, phenomenological qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts from four groups (African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and European American) for cultural influences on caregiving. Data were collected in Nevada between December 7, 2009, and August 20, 2010. Thirty-five caregivers participated in this study. We found commonalities among all of the cultural/ethnic groups in their experiences of the difficulties of caregiving. However, there were some significant differences in the cultural values and norms that shaped the caregiving experience. We categorized these differences as: (a) cultural embeddedness of caregiving, (b) cultural determinants of caregiving responsibilities or taxonomy of caregiving, and (c) cultural values and norms underlying the decision to provide care. The significance of this study is that it highlights the culturally perceived mandate to provide care in the African, Asian, and Hispanic American cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to a Request for Proposals from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) along with health care partners from the Phoenix Indian medical Center (PIMC) and academic partners from the Arizona Cancer Center (ACC) at the University of Arizona (UA), and the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) established a Community Network Program entitled the Southwest American Indian Collaborative Network (SAICN). The ultimate goal of the SAICN project was to "eliminate cancer health disparities by closing the gap between the health needs of the community and cancer prevention and control made possible by a responsive health delivery and research system." At the close of the 5-year funding period for the SAICN project, a RE-AIM framework provided an important evaluative tool for identifying areas of potential longterm impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing and reducing the onset of type 2 diabetes among American Indian/Alaska Native youth requires ground-breaking strategies to affect knowledge, attitudes, and cognitive decision-making skills. In an unparalleled endeavor to address the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes in tribal communities, a K-12 Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools (DETS) curriculum was created by eight tribal colleges and three federal agencies. This article highlights the results of the implementation phase, the final evaluation step in acquiring and measuring student knowledge and attitude gains through pre-post standardized assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Indian Research and Education Center (AIREC) located at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is entering their 8th-year as a National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) STEP-UP Coordinating Center. AIREC is one of only 4 Coordinating Centers across the country with this particular R25 funding. AIREC's STEP-UP program "Journey" specifically targets and recruits American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and Puerto Rico (PR) students across the nation in an effort to increase exposure of a summer research experience within the areas of science and research. The long-term objective of Journey is to provide mentored research opportunities to 11th & 12th high grade school students through the provision of hands on experiences which may include the range of biomedical, social science, behavioral, and clinical research. Journey's overall goal is to encourage AI/AN and PR students to explore further research experiences and professions, and to pursue biomedical degrees during their undergraduate journey. High school STEP-UP students are immersed into an eight-week summer research experience within their own communities. While research preparation, scientific methodology, data gathering, analysis and making meaning of the results is crucial, so is the component of "giving back" through their research (Kovach, 2009). The ability of "giving back" is a circular process between AIREC staff and students. The learning that occurs during this process is valuable to the student (self), family, and tribal community. Thus, the relevance of the STEP-UP experience for Alaska Native students should have an overall purpose for their community and cultural identity. Recruitment and inclusion of rural Alaska Native high school students into the STEP-UP program can be challenging due to various factors such as remoteness of geographic location, and a traditional subsistence lifestyle. The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) recognizes traditional subsistence lifestyles as the hunting, fishing, and gathering activities, which continues to flourish in many areas of Alaska today (Blair, et.al. 2014). During Alaska's summer months, traditional fishing, hunting, and gathering by all family and community members are critical for many tribal communities in Alaska due to several factors such as limited access to food during winter months, high food prices, and traditional ways of living. These familial and community obligations can create significant barriers for AI/AN participants within the summer STEP-UP program. Keeping these cultural nuances in mind, the AIREC STEP-UP staff work closely with AI/AN high school students to make the summer research experience as fulfilling as possible. For example, typically Alaska Native high school students are released from school mid-May, three weeks earlier than their counterparts in the lower 48 contiguous states. This earlier public school release has implications for both an Alaska subsistence lifestyle and the STEP-UP start date. Due to overlapping dates, the STEP-UP program timeline is modified in order to accommodate Alaska Native students. The AIREC STEP-UP staff strive to balance cultural frameworks that effectively embrace their Alaska Native student's cultural norms with that of the program. The ability to minimize cultural dissonance is addressed by understanding that the student's success is influenced by the family and cultural context as it relates to the community. The cultural and traditional roles that a student is responsible for within the family and community hierarchy is critical to know and understand in order to create a meaningful summer research experience for the student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at diabetes prevention and health promotion programs for American Indians/Alaska Natives based on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). The authors emphasize the need to respect tribal knowledge about health as well as tribal self-determination. The causation of Type 2 diabetes among American Indians/Alaska Natives, including social determinants, is discussed. Details on the relationship between tribal lands, diet, and health are also presented.

Water quality is defined by several characteristics: chemical, physical, biological, and radiological. Water quality is important in Alaskan communities due to the reliance of subsistence hunting like fishing to meet cultural and spiritual needs. A healthy aquatic system is achieved when water quality is not altered or disturbed. The objective of this project is to determine the water quality of the Kenektok River in Quinhagak, Alaska. The La Motte Water monitoring kit was used in this project to determine any chemical, physical, biological, and radiological disturbances. Three water samples were taken from different locations, approximately 1 meter apart, along the Kenektok River, and each were tested for coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen, nitrate, pH, turbidity, temperature, and phosphate. Across all testing sites, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen, nitrate, pH, turbidity, phosphate was ranked good to excellent quality. However, each testing site was positive for coliform bacteria. Further investigation of these sites will be needed in order to confirm if the Kenektok River aquatic ecosystem has been disturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]