Opioid Overdose Prevention in Tribal Communities (NCIPC)
The Opioid Overdose Prevention in Tribal Communities is the second part of a two-part funding strategy awarded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). The first part is the Tribal Public Health Capacity Building and Quality Improvement Umbrella Cooperative Agreement, which is a 5-year cooperative agreement awarded by the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) within the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC). This second funding strategy was only available to those who received the Tribal Public Health Capacity Building and Quality Improvement Umbrella Cooperative Agreement. The purpose of this supplemental funding strategy is to address the critical need for public health prevention and intervention in Indian Country during the opioid crisis.
This project aims to do the following:
- Increase the use of data to inform evidence-based and/or community-informed and culturally appropriate prevention strategies and programmatic decision-making
- Improve AI/AN racial classification in data sets
- Improve non-fatal data (morbidity) for AI/AN populations
- Improve fatal data (mortality) for AI/AN populations
- Improve health systems infrastructure and capacity to implement safer prescribing practices
- Increase implementation of community-based strategies to address the opioid overdose epidemic
Goals and Objectives:
Through highly involved partnerships and community engagement, we expect to successfully implement goals and objectives to reduce opioid overdose deaths in Indian Country.
Goals and objectives for this project include:
- Creating an actionable strategic plan to address the opioid crisis with measurable objectives
- Implementing CDC’s safer prescribing practices
- Facilitating the use of Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSS) that will be certified for PRSS and receive culturally appropriate opioid prevention strategies
- Improving the quality of current sources of opioid overdose data, such as the prescription monitoring program
- Ensuring that tribes and tribal health organizations receive culturally appropriate training on the use of fatal opioid overdose prevention strategies
This supplemental funding opportunity is a three-year ongoing project that will address the opioid overdose crisis impacting Indian Country. The first year of this project is dedicated to strategic planning efforts, followed by implementation in years two and three. In years two and three, we plan to implement CDC’s safer prescribing practices in tribal healthcare settings; facilitate the use of a culturally competent Peer Recovery Support Specialist that will assist in coordination of care and linking people to treatment services; improve the quality and availability of opioid overdose data; and provide culturally appropriate trainings on the use of fatal opioid overdose prevention strategies to tribes and tribal health organizations.
In the state of Oklahoma between 2014 and 2016, the age-adjusted rate for opioid overdose death among AI/ANs is 23.8 compared to 21.2 for their white counterparts. This does not include the 749 Native Americans, between 2004 and 2015, who were hospitalized for opioid-related causes. Our efforts will focus on those who are at risk of opioid overdose deaths or live in at-risk communities.
The SPTHB OKTEC serves the 44 tribes across Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. We were awarded supplemental funding in the amount of $1 million to address the opioid overdose crisis in our tribal communities. This is an amazing accomplishment for our area and organization as the opioid crisis has gravely affected our tribal communities.
The SPTHB is in year one of this three-year supplemental funding opportunity.
Southern Plains Tribal Health Board
Phone: (405) 652-9200
Fax: (405) 840-7052
Email: info@spthb.org
