Browsing by Author "Salois, Emily"

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COVID-19 and food insecurity in the Blackfeet Tribal Community
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022-05) John-Henderson, Neha A.; Oosterhoff, Benjamin J.; Johnson, Lester R.; Lafromboise, Mary Ellen; Malatare, Melveena; Salois, Emily
To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity in the Blackfeet American Indian Tribal Community. American Indian adults residing on the Blackfeet reservation in Northwest Montana (n = 167) participated in a longitudinal survey across 4 months during the COVID-19 pandemic (August 24, 2020- November 30, 2020). Participants reported on demographics and food insecurity. We examined trajectories of food insecurity alongside COVID-19 incidence. While food insecurity was high in the Blackfeet community preceding the pandemic, 79% of our sample reported significantly greater food insecurity at the end of the study. Blackfeet women were more likely to report higher levels of food insecurity and having more people in the household predicted higher food insecurity. Longitudinal data indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated already high levels of food insecurity in the Blackfeet community. Existing programs and policies are inadequate to address this public health concern in AI tribal communities.
Health Disparities Research with American Indian Communities: The Importance of Trust and Transparency
(2021) Skewes, Monica C.; Gonzalez, Vivian M.; Gameon, Julie A.; FireMoon, Paula; Salois, Emily; Rasmus, Stacy M.; Lewis, Jordan P.; Gardner, Scott A.; Ricker, Adriann; Reum, Martel
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities experience notable health disparities associated with substance use, including disproportionate rates of accidents/injuries, diabetes, liver disease, suicide, and substance use disorders. Effective treatments for substance use are needed to improve health equity for AI/AN communities. However, an unfortunate history of unethical and stigmatizing research has engendered distrust and reluctance to participate in research among many Native communities. In recent years, researchers have made progress toward engaging in ethical health disparities research by using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework to work in close partnership with community members throughout the research process. In this methodological process paper, we discuss the collaborative development of a quantitative survey aimed at understanding risk and protective factors for substance use among a sample of tribal members residing on a rural AI reservation with numerous systems-level barriers to recovery and limited access to treatment. By using a CBPR approach and prioritizing trust and transparency with community partners and participants, we were able to successfully recruit our target sample and collect quality data from nearly 200 tribal members who self-identified as having a substance use problem. Strategies for enhancing buy-in and recruiting a community sample are discussed.
Social Marketing Risk-Framing Approaches for Dental Sealants in Rural American Indian Children
(2015-06) Larrson, Laura S.; Champine, Dorothy; Hoyt, Dee; Lin, Lillian; Salois, Emily; Silvas, Sharon; Weasel Tail, Terri; Williams, Matthew
Objective: To compare three variants of a culturally relevant and theoretically based message to determine the most influential risk-framing approach for improving intention to place dental sealants for preschool children. Design and Sample: A convenience sample of adult, American Indian participants (n = 89) attending a community health fair were assigned to view a gain-framed, loss-framed, or mix-framed dental sealant message. Measures: We compared participants\' scores on a 46-item survey to determine the relative effect of the frame assignment on seven indices of behavior change. Results: The mean difference in participants\' stage-of-change scores (x = 1.17, n = 89, SD = 1.90) demonstrated a significant improvement for all groups after watching the dental sealant message t88 = 5.81, p < .0001, 95% CI [0.77â€“1.57]. Self-efficacy was the only construct for which we detected a statistically significant difference as a function of frame assignment. Overall, the mix-framed message resulted in the highest scores. The gain-framed message was the least influential on four constructs. This finding is in contrast to findings that gain-framed oral health messages are most influential (Gallagher & Updegraff, 2012; O'Keefe & Jensen, 2007). Conclusions: Community advisory board members determined to use the mix-framed approach in an oral health social marketing campaign with a rural, American Indian audience.