Project Overview
The aims of the parent R01 grant remain as originally proposed. We seek an administrative supplement to understand the broad impact of COVID-19 and related stressors on substance use and access to addiction treatment among Indigenous young adults living on or near reservations/reserves. Some indigenous populations are facing the highest rates of COVID-19 related disease and death in the world. The legacy of infectious diseases, including those introduced by federal officials as a form of germ-warfare, ongoing discrimination, and profound health inequalities due to social determinants of health, all contribute to profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous communities.
Ultimately, understanding the range of COVID-19 related stressors and impacts of stressors among Indigenous peoples can inform current and future prevention and intervention efforts by identifying those most exposed, how these exposures are affecting substance use and treatment use, and how pre-exposure characteristics may modify the impact of these exposures on substance use outcomes.
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Research Aims
This administrative supplement will address three new aims within the existing scope of work to:
Specific Aim 1: Characterize the prevalence of COVID-19 related socio-economic, cultural, historical and behavioral stressors for N = 676 Indigenous young adults living on or near reservations/reserves in the United States and Canada who participate in the Healing Pathways longitudinal study.
Specific Aim 2: Determine the impacts of COVID-19 on changes in substance abuse and access to addiction treatment using data from a subsample (N = 467) of young adults enrolled in Healing Pathways who have not yet completed their final assessment.
Specific Aim 3: Examine how pre-pandemic substance use, mental health, personal and historical characteristics may mediate or moderate the impact of COVID-19 on substance abuse and addiction treatment access among the subsample of N = 467 Healing Pathways participants.
The aims of this administrative supplement will bring innovative understanding to how substance use is impacted by a large scale disaster for Indigenous people who experience significant substance-use health inequities. The specific aims are directly in line with NIDA’s Notice of Special Interest NOT-DA-20-047, including the research objective: “Research using ongoing studies to understand the broad impacts of COVID-19 (e.g., school closures, food insecurity, anxiety, social isolation, family loss) on neurodevelopment, substance use, substance use disorders, and access to addiction treatment.”