Browsing by Author "McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Improving Chronic Illness Self-Management with the Apsáalooke Nation: The Báa nnilah Project, a cluster randomized trial protocol
(Elsevier BV, 2022) Hallett, John; Feng, Du; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Allen, Sarah; Inouye, Jillian; Schure, Mark B.; Holder, Shannon; Other Medicine, Lucille; Held, Suzanne
Chronic illness (CI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for Indigenous people. In Montana, Indigenous communities disproportionately experience CI, a legacy of settler colonialism. For over two decades, Messengers for Health, an Apsáalooke (Crow Indian) non-profit, and Montana State University have partnered to improve community health using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. We developed Báa nnilah, an intervention utilizing community strengths, to improve CI self-management. This manuscript describes the protocol for a cluster randomized trial with two arms: an intervention group and a wait list control group, who both participated in the Báa nnilah program. Enrollment occurred through family/clan networks and community outreach and attended to limitations of existing CI self-management interventions by using an approach and content that were culturally consonant. Participants received program materials, attended seven gatherings focused on improving CI management, and received and shared health information through storytelling based on a conceptual framework from the Apsáalooke culture and incorporating CI self-management strategies. Participant support occurred within partnership dyads during and between gatherings, from community mentors, and by program staff. The study used mixed methods to evaluate the intervention, with qualitative measures including the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Patient Activation Measure (PAM), and a suite of PROMIS measures, various physical tests and qualitative survey responses, semi-structured interviews, and outcomes shared by participants with program staff. We hypothesized that Báa nnilah would significantly improve participant health outcome measures across multiple dimensions with quality of life (QoL) as the primary outcome.
Recruitment, retention, and intervention adherence for a chronic illness self-management intervention with the Apsáalooke Nation
(Frontiers Media, 2022-06) Fimbel, Laurel; Pitts, Mikayla; Schure, Mark B.; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Held, Suzanne
Recruitment, retention, and adherence within health intervention research have been understudied in Indigenous communities, where well-known health disparities exist. The purpose of this paper is to describe planned versus actual recruitment, retention, and adherence strategies and the evaluation of retention and adherence strategies for a community-based research study of a Chronic Illness (CI) self-management intervention within an Indigenous community. A Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach was used to develop and implement Báa nnilah, a culturally consonant educational intervention to improve CI self-management. Reasons for participant adherence and retention were tracked and recorded over time. A post-intervention survey assessed barriers and facilitators to intervention adherence. Overall, recruitment, retention, and adherence methods were successful in enrolling and maintaining participation. Using a CBPR approach and culturally consonant strategies may assist in meeting recruitment goals and improving sustained participation of community members, thus impacting health disparities among Indigenous communities.
Reliability, construct validity, and measurement invariance of the PROMIS Physical Function 8b—Adult Short Form v2.0
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020-12) Feng, Du; Laurel, Fimbel; Castille, Dorothy; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Held, Suzanne
Purpose The National Institutes of Health established the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) to assess health across various chronic illnesses. The standardized PROMIS measures have been used to assess symptoms in studies that included Native American participants, although the psychometric properties of these measures have not been assessed among a solely Native American population. This study aimed to assess the reliability, construct validity, and measurement invariance of a widely used PROMIS Physical Function survey among Native Americans residing on or near the Apsáalooke (Crow) Reservation who were living with chronic illnesses. Methods Participants aged 24 to 82 years and living with at least one chronic illness were recruited for a community-based participatory research project. Baseline data were used for the current study (N = 210). The 8-item PROMIS Physical Function 8b—Adult Short Form v2.0 was used to assess the function of upper and lower extremities, central core regions, and the ability to complete daily activities on a 5-point Likert scale. Results Results indicated that the above PROMIS survey had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.95) and split-half (r = 0.92, p < 0.001) reliabilities. Confirmatory factor analyses supported construct validity among females of the above population and when the two sex groups were combined. Results also indicated that corresponding thresholds and factor loadings were invariant across male and female groups. Conclusions The above PROMIS measure had good psychometric properties in females and when the two sex groups were combined among Native American adults living on or near the Apsáalooke reservation with chronic illnesses. Thresholds and factor loadings appeared to be invariant by sex. Future studies with a larger sample size among males and more studies on the psychometric properties of other PROMIS measures among Native American populations are needed.