Tribal Tobacco Use Project II: Planning, Implementation, and Dissemination Using Culturally Relevant Data Collection among American Indian Communities

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 19; no. 13; p. 7708
• Main Authors: Roland, Kendra M, Anderson, Madison D, Carroll, Dana M, Webber, Anna G, Rhodes, Kristine L, Poupart, John, Forster, Jean L, Peterson-Hickey, Melanie, Pickner, Wyatt J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23.06.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: American Indian or Alaska Native; Cancer; Community involvement; Community participation; Data Collection; Health surveillance; Hispanic people; Humans; Indians, North American; Minority & ethnic groups; Native Americans; Native culture; Native North Americans; Neoplasms; Participatory research; Public health; Religious persecution; Smoking; Spirituality; Tobacco; Tobacco industry; Tobacco Use - epidemiology; United States - epidemiology; United States; United States > US; Minnesota; surveillance; culturally tailored data collection; community-based participatory research; tobacco use in American Indian communities
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19137708

American Indians have substantially higher commercial tobacco-related cancer rates when compared to the general population. To effectively combat commercial tobacco-related cancer, it is important that tribal nations obtain current and accurate community-specific data on commercial tobacco use and exposure-related attitudes and behaviors. With the goal to collect, synthesize, and disseminate data on tobacco use, including the role traditional tobacco plays among American Indian people, the American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICAF) and various stakeholders developed and implemented the Tribal Tobacco Use Project II (TTUP II) during 2018-2021. Building upon its predecessor, the Tribal Tobacco Use Project I (TTUP I), TTUP II used principles of community-based participatory research and culturally appropriate methods, such as Reality-Based Research, in partnership with tribal nations. We describe the TTUP II rationale, methods for participant recruitment and data collection, emphasizing the importance of using culturally relevant survey items to disentangle commercial tobacco use from traditional tobacco use. American Indian traditional tobacco is viewed as medicine in these communities with a unique socio-cultural context that must be addressed when engaging in commercial tobacco control efforts in American Indian communities. This approach may be useful to other tribal nations who are interested in conducting culturally relevant tobacco surveillance efforts.