Tribally-led mobile outreach: improving access to harm reduction services in one rural reservation community.

American Indian and Alaska Native populations in the United States face significant disparities related to opioid use disorder and opioid-related mortality. Inequitable access to medications and harm reduction strategies due to structural, societal, and geographical factors prevent Tribal communities from obtaining needed services, and further contribute to the opioid epidemic. One Tribal Healing Center in the Rocky Mountain region identified mobile outreach to build upon existing opioid prevention, treatment, and harm reduction efforts. The Healing Center purchased a mobile outreach vehicle and worked with a combination of clinical staff, peer recovery support specialists, and Tribal elders to reach identified high-risk areas on the reservation. As of December 2023, the mobile outreach vehicle has disseminated 150 Narcan kits, 150 Fentanyl testing strips, 20 self-care kits, and 500 brochures detailing Healing Center services. Preliminary results from this formative evaluation demonstrate the success of MOV efforts and the process required to purchase and launch an MOV campaign.

Complementary Alternative Medicine: A Culturally Centered Approach to Managing Chronic Pain from One American Indian Community.

This evaluation explored the benefits of Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) within a reservation-based, State-certified outpatient treatment provider. The three CAM strategies provided were massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic therapies. The evaluation team worked with a peer recovery support specialist and tribal evaluation intern to co-create a one-page, eight-question, fixed-response instrument based on previous work in the community. Surveys were collected by the peer support specialist post-session with individuals receiving CAM therapies. Surveys assessed self-reported impacts, reasons for attending CAM sessions, and mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health before and after CAM sessions. Paired t-tests were used to examine significant differences in mean scores before and after CAM sessions. A total of 40 participants completed the survey between March 2021 and March 2022. The evaluation found a significant increase in the mean scores for all measured self-reported health ratings: physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental. The greatest increase observed was for physical health (M = 5.32, SD = 2.53) and physical health after (M = 8.38, SD = 1.60) based on self-report data; t(78) = 6.46, p = .0001. CAM sessions positively influenced participants; 83% (n = 33) reported being more hopeful about their overall health and wellness. The holistic approach demonstrated promising results and potential benefits of CAM on overall wellness and belonging. Further research is needed to explore how CAM may be implemented as a culturally centered approach to managing chronic pain often associated with opioid use disorder.

Methodological Studies of the Mechanism of Anion Insertion in Nanometer-Sized Carbon Micropores.

Dual-ion hybrid capacitors (DIHCs) are a promising class of electrochemical energy storage devices intermediate between batteries and supercapacitors, exhibiting both high energy and power density, and generalizable across wide chemistries beyond lithium. In this study, a model carbon framework material with a periodic structure containing exclusively 1.2 nm width pores, zeolite-templated carbon (ZTC), was investigated as the positive electrode for the storage of a range of anions relevant to DIHC chemistries. Screening experiments were carried out across 21 electrolyte compositions within a common stable potential window of 3.0-4.0 V vs. Li/Li+ to determine trends in capacity as a function of anion and solvent properties. To achieve fast rate capability, a binary solvent balancing a high dielectric constant with a low viscosity and small molecular size was used; optimized full-cells based on LiPF6 in binary electrolyte exhibited 146 Wh kg-1 and >4000 W kg-1 energy and power densities, respectively.