Previous Projects of American Indian and Alaska Native Health
Strong and Healthy People
This project, which was funded by the Center on Native Elder Health Disparities, was designed to assess the impact of informational calendars on the use of preventive healthcare procedures by active patients at the Seattle Indian Health Board. A Native art calendar was mailed to active patients. Half of the group received a “message” calendar, and half a “placebo” calendar. The message calendar prominently displayed a unique piece of art each month along with a health-related message (e.g., mammography, exercise, etc.). The messages were brief and included a statement of the problem (e.g., 10% of Native American women die of breast cancer), followed by a recommendation (e.g., mammograms can detect early breast cancer; ask your doctor if you need a mammogram). Additionally, all calendars contained a listing of events at the Seattle Indian Health Board such as the annual health fair on Halloween. A research assistant contacted a sub-sample of patients to find out if they had received the calendar. About six months after the calendar mailing, patients’ medical charts and pharmacy records were reviewed to assess the use of preventive procedures.
Relationship Between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Pain in Two American Indian Tribes
In a study using data collected as part of the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project at the University of Colorado, Dr. Buchwald and colleagues examined the association between lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder and pain as reported on the SF-36.
View PTSD and Pain in American Indian Tribes Abstract.
Alcohol Health Disparities in Two Indian Populations
This study, headed by Dr. Douglas Novins of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado, was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The project’s goal was to analyze data from the recently completed American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, and Risk/Protective Factors Project--the first large-scale, population-based study of American Indians 15 to 54 years of age. Specific aims focused on the epidemiology of alcohol use in two American Indian populations in comparison with the general US population as well as disparities in the epidemiology of alcohol use, drug use, and psychiatric and health conditions. Dr. Buchwald was a co-investigator on this project.
View Alcohol Health Disparities Abstract.
The Promises and Pitfalls of Native Genetic Research
This project was headed by Dr. Paul Spicer of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and was funded by the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Buchwald was a co-investigator on this project.
HIV/STD Prevention Research in Two American Indian Tribes
This study was headed by Dr. Christina Mitchell of the Department of Psychiatry at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Buchwald was a co-investigator on this project.
View HIV/STD Prevention Abstract.
