Assessing health status, behavioral risks, and health disparities in American Indians living on the northern plains of the U.S.
OBJECTIVE
We assessed health status and behavioral risks in American Indians (AIs) from rural, northern plains reservation communities.


METHODS
AI interviewers from the communities administered the core and optional modules of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to 404 AI adults randomly selected from housing lists from four AI tribal communities located on the northern plains of the U.S. The BRFSS interview assessed several health functioning areas including medical conditions, preventive screenings, and behavioral risks. We measured health disparities by comparing the AI sample data with a northern plains statewide (North Dakota) sample and a U.S. national sample. We compared outcomes with BRFSS statewide (North Dakota) and U.S. national data from telephone-based interviews.


RESULTS
AI participants showed a significantly greater prevalence of diabetes, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, smoking, obesity, and heavy alcohol use than either the regional or national samples. They also reported being less likely to engage in leisure-time physical activity and to have had age-appropriate preventive screenings for several diseases including colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Face-to-face interviews conducted by AI community members are an effective means of gathering health information about AIs living in rural, reservation communities. AIs living in these communities on the northern plains have a much higher prevalence of many health-risk behaviors and some medical conditions than are found in the general population. Improved health-care access, better preventive screenings, and culturally appropriate community-based health promotion programs and policies should be examined as possible ways to reduce health disparities.
Holm
Jeffrey E
JE
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, 501 N. Columbia Rd., Stop 9037, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037, USA. jholm@medicine.nodak.edu
Vogeltanz-Holm
Nancy
N
Poltavski
Dmitri
D
McDonald
Leander
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000208:ethnology; D009658:North Dakota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
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