Building Equitable Native American Community-Led Research Partnerships: N CREW

Rebecca G. Baker, Ph.D.

Rebecca G. Baker, Ph.D., is the director of the NIH HEAL Initiative®. Read more about Dr. Baker.

Dear HEAL Community,

Putting science to work to confront the opioid crisis means identifying and testing sustainable strategies to address drug use, overdose, and untreated pain. This is especially critical in Native communities in the United States, which have been disproportionately affected. It is crucial that HEAL partners with Native communities to leverage their knowledge and strengths to support community-driven innovations and sustainable solutions.

Combining the power of science and community is the HEAL vision for a better future:

  • … where research projects are prioritized by and elevate Native communities’ Knowledge and cultures.
  • … in which Native-prioritized research builds on community strengths and practices guided by culturally grounded views of health and life.
  • … where improved data drive community decision-making to save lives, reduce health disparities, and increase wellness.

Over the next 7 years, the Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness (N CREW) Program: Addressing Overdose, Substance Use, Mental Health, and Pain will work hard to bring this future into focus. The program will build and strengthen equitable partnerships with Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations to increase capacity and provide support for Tribes to conduct locally prioritized research.

Working Together for Solutions

N CREW is guided by two Tribal Consultations in 2018 and 2022 pdf  377.56 KB that sought direction from Tribal leaders on research needs for addressing opioid misuse and improving pain management in Native communities. This groundbreaking research program is responsive to priorities expressed by communities, for example embracing a holistic perspective on health and life and uplifting community and cultural strengths. N CREW will be carried out in two phases – 2 years for planning and 5 years for research. This highly collaborative partnership between Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations, Ally Organizations, and NIH has three main goals:

  • To support Native community-prioritized research and the reliance on Indigenous cultural Knowledge and practices
  • To enhance capacity for research led by Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations
  • To increase access to data that are accurate, timely, and culturally and community relevant

“For Us, By Us” – Research Prioritized by Communities With Local Expertise

Some existing HEAL research elevates the expertise and knowledge of Tribes and Native communities. For example, scientists are partnering with three American Indian and Alaska Native treatment centers to develop and test an integrated, culturally relevant treatment for opioid use disorder in primary care and addiction treatment clinics. In another example, HEAL prevention research in collaboration with the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma is working to reduce risk and improve outcomes for adolescents and young adults.

The N CREW program will expand current HEAL research investments to support research by, and partnerships with, Native people – enabling a much broader set of research projects that will have a primary goal of benefiting Tribes and Native communities. Although the research phase of N CREW has not yet started, we welcome a range of approaches. These include research related to epidemiology, prevention, treatment, and service access/delivery – as well as different types of data projects, such as storytelling or quantitative data.

Building Capacity for the Future

N CREW recognizes that Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations are best positioned to examine and respond to community needs through culturally grounded knowledge and strategies. This research program is structured to offer culturally suitable technical assistance, training, and resources that complement community strengths and capacity.

Participating Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations, using their own leadership and research skills and in partnership with supporting Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations and/or Ally Organizations, will increase their research capacity across a variety of domains. That includes, for example, subject matter expertise, creating financial accounting systems, grant writing, research approaches, and analytical methods.

N CREW will involve federally or state-recognized Tribes and organizations with a core mission and/or track record of serving Native Americans, Alaska Natives, or Native Hawaiians. Examples might include community organizations, local businesses, neighborhood authorities or associations, patient or consumer advocacy groups, regional/local and public health care systems, schools, law enforcement or criminal/juvenile justice agencies, or social service agencies.

Enhancing Access to Accurate Data

The N CREW program also aims to increase access to and improve the quality of data on substance use, pain, and related health and wellbeing factors for Tribes and Native communities. This information is necessary for Tribes and Native communities to make informed local decisions to improve wellness and save lives. Increasing capacity for Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations to collect or access data is critical for promoting actionable and sustainable solutions to treatment and prevention. Increasing capacity also supports a broader goal of promoting more accurate data about Tribes and Native communities and issues at both local and national levels. Supporting Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations in their work to improve culturally meaningful data also recognizes the crucial role of Indigenous Knowledge and world views.

Seeking Research Applications

HEAL welcomes innovative research proposals to stand up the N CREW program through two open funding opportunities:

N CREW and other HEAL-funded research with community partners is an important opportunity to ensure that local knowledge, lived experience, and culture informs solutions. This approach is likely to result in improved sustainability. What’s more, we anticipate that research projects supported by the N CREW effort will illuminate the importance of elevating community strengths and knowledge to better understand and respond to substance use and pain as well as to promote health and wellness through culturally grounded solutions.

If you have questions about this exciting new research program and funding opportunities, please contact [email protected]. Connect with HEAL by email at [email protected], and subscribe to the NIH HEAL Initiative email list to get the monthly HEAL Digest sent directly to your inbox.