Feasibility of Implementing the All Nations Breath of Life Culturally Tailored Smoking Cessation Program for American Indians in Multi-Tribal Urban Communities.

Introduction: Prevalence of cigarette smoking is highest among American Indians, yet few culturally appropriate smoking cessation programs have yet been developed and tested for multi-tribal American Indian adult populations. This study examined implementation of the All Nations Breath of Life culturally tailored smoking cessation program in multi-tribal urban and suburban American Indian communities in seven locations across five states (N = 312). Methods: This single-arm study used community-based participatory research to conduct a 12-week intervention whose primary purpose was to curb commercial tobacco use among American Indians. Participants were followed through month 6 in person and month 12 via telephone. The primary outcome was continuous abstinence from recreational cigarette smoking at 6 months post-baseline, verified through voluntary provision of salivary cotinine levels. Results: At program completion (12 weeks post-baseline), 53.3% of program completers remained abstinent; labeling those lost to follow-up as smokers resulted in a 41.4% quit rate. At 6 months post-baseline (primary endpoint), 31.1% of retained participants quit smoking (p < .0001 compared to the highest quit rates among multi-tribal populations reported in the literature, 7%); final quit rate was 22.1% labeling those lost to follow-up as smokers (p = .002). Retention rate at endpoint was 71.2%. 12-month follow-up was attempted with all participants and had a retention rate of 49.0%. Of those participants reached, 34.0% were smoke-free. Conclusions: All Nations Breath of Life shows promise as a smoking cessation program for multi-tribal urban American Indian communities. It can be successfully implemented in a variety of urban settings. Implications: This is the first large feasibility study of a culturally tailored smoking cessation program for American Indians with good cessation and retention rates in a multi-tribal urban American Indian population. It shows that All Nations Breath of Life can be implemented in multiple urban settings across five states. To our knowledge, this is the first program of its kind to be implemented across multiple heterogeneous urban locations and to include salivary cotinine testing for verification of self-report data across these locations.

All Nations Breath of Life: A Randomized Trial of Smoking Cessation for American Indians.

INTRODUCTION: American Indians have the highest cigarette smoking prevalence of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S. There is currently no effective empirically based smoking-cessation program for American Indians. The purpose of this study was to determine if a culturally tailored smoking-cessation program, All Nations Breath of Life (ANBL), is more effective than a non-tailored cessation program among American Indian smokers. DESIGN: A multisite RCT was conducted from September 2009 to July 2014; analysis was conducted in 2015. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Participants were rural or reservation-based American Indian smokers aged ≥18 years. INTERVENTION: Smokers were group randomized to either the culturally tailored ANBL or non-tailored current best practices (CBP) for a total enrolled sample size of 463 (ANBL, n=243; CBP, n=220). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome of interest was salivary cotinine-verified 7-day point prevalence smoking abstinence at 6 months. Results for both responder-only and intent-to-treat analyses for self-reported and cotinine-verified abstinence are presented. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat, imputing all non-responses as smokers, the self-reported point prevalence abstinence rates at 12 weeks were 27.9% in the ANBL arm and 17.4% in the CBP arm (p=0.028). There was a statistically significant difference in self-reported 6-month intent-to-treat point prevalence abstinence rates between ANBL (20.1%) and CBP (12.0%) arms (p=0.029). None of the cotinine-verified results were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The culturally tailored smoking-cessation program ANBL may or may not be an effective program in promoting cessation at 12 weeks and 6 months. Participants in the culturally tailored ANBL program were approximately twice as likely to quit smoking at 6 months compared with the CBP program, using self-reported abstinence.

Views, barriers, and suggestions for colorectal cancer screening among american Indian women older than 50 years in the midwest.

OBJECTIVE: Although colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality rates in the US population have shown a decline, American Indian (AI) CRC mortality rates appear to be increasing. CRC screening rates of AIs remain low when compared with other ethnic groups. The research team explored women's perceptions toward CRC screening, existing barriers, and suggestions to promote education and screening among AI women in Kansas and Missouri. METHODS: Using a community-based participatory research approach, the authors conducted 7 focus groups with AI women older than 50 years (N = 52) to better understand their perceptions of and attitudes toward CRC screening. RESULTS: Women recognized barriers to screening, such as embarrassment, privacy issues, fear, insurance, and cost. They countered perceived barriers through inventive suggestions for education and awareness via social support systems and intergenerational relationships. DISCUSSION: CRC screening interventions for AI must be culturally tailored.

Improving health promotion to American Indians in the midwest United States: preferred sources of health information and its use for the medical encounter.

American Indians and Alaska Natives suffer significant health disparities for many infectious and chronic diseases as compared to the general population. Providing accurate and culturally tailored health information to underserved groups has been shown to influence health behaviors and health outcomes. Little prior research has explored American Indians health information use and preferences. National representative sample surveys such as the Health Information National Trends Survey provide some data on minority groups but are underpowered to provide useful information on American Indians. The present study analyzes data from a survey of over 900 American Indians from the Midwest United States and explores their sources of health information, their preferences for information presentation, and their use of health information prior to and during medical encounters. We conclude that campaigns targeting Natives should be narrowly focused and be community driven or employing community resources. American Indians use a diversity of media sources to obtain health information, with the Internet being underutilized compared to the general population. Partnership with Indian Health Service providers and pharmacists, as well as traditional healers, in the development and dissemination of new health information for Natives may provide the "expert" tone needed to promote health improvements in American Indians.

Culturally-tailored smoking cessation for American Indians: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable death among American Indian and Alaska Natives, AI/ANs. Two out of every five AI/AN will die from tobacco-related diseases if the current smoking rates of AI/ANs (40.8%) persist. Currently, there is no proven, effective culturally-tailored smoking cessation program designed specifically for a heterogeneous population of AI.The primary aim of this group randomized clinical trial is to test the efficacy of "All Nations Breath of Life" (ANBL) program compared to a non-tailored "Current Best Practices" smoking cessation program among AI smokers. METHODS: We will randomize 56 groups (8 smokers per group) to the tailored program or non-tailored program for a total sample size of 448 American Indian smokers. All participants in the proposed study will be offered pharmacotherapy, regardless of group assignment. This study is the first controlled trial to examine the efficacy of a culturally-tailored smoking cessation program for American Indians. If the intervention is successful, the potential health impact is significant because the prevalence of smoking is the highest in this population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01106456.