A community‐engaged approach to investigate cardiovascular‐associated inflammation among American Indian women: A research protocol

• Published in: Research in nursing & health Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 165 - 175
• Main Authors: Brooks, Jada L., Berry, Diane C., Currin, Emily G., Ledford, Alasia, Knafl, George J., Fredrickson, Barbara L., Beeber, Linda S., Peden, David B., Corbie‐Smith, Giselle M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2019
• Subjects: Adult; adulthood; African Americans; Air Pollution - adverse effects; American Indians; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - ethnology; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Clinical Protocols - standards; community‐based participatory research; cultural research; design development; Emotions; environment; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Female; Gender; Gender inequality; Gene expression; Health disparities; Health status; Humans; Indians, North American; Inflammation; Inflammation - ethnology; Inflammation - prevention & control; Infrastructure; Medical research; Mental depression; Mental Health - ethnology; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Mortality; Native North Americans; Participatory research; physiological states; Pollutants; Positive emotions; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological aspects; Race; Recruitment; Socioeconomic Factors; Symptoms; Womens health; women’s health; Young Adult; United States > US; environment; women’s health; design development; inflammation; cultural research; adulthood; community-based participatory research; physiological states
• ISSN: 0160-6891; 1098-240X
• DOI: 10.1002/nur.21944

American Indian women are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than White or African American women. Inflammatory processes may underlie CVD disparities by gender and race and may be critical to understanding population‐specific drivers and potential buffers. Exposure to environmental air pollutants, especially particulate matter (PM), is known to be an important catalyst in CVD‐associated inflammation. Positive psychological states, associated with low levels of inflammatory gene expression, could serve to moderate the inflammatory response to environmental air pollutants and ultimately lead to better cardiovascular health outcomes. The aim of the ongoing community‐engaged and NIH‐funded study described in this study protocol is to address the racial and gender gaps in CVD mortality by investigating the contextually relevant and culturally important determinants of health among American Indian women. In this paper we describe the procedures used to examine the relationship between environmental air pollutant exposures (PM10‐2.5 and PM 2.5), psychological factors (e.g., depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, eudemonic well‐being, and positive emotions), and cardiovascular‐associated inflammation (hs‐CRP, IL‐6, Amyloid A, CBCs with differentials) in a sample of 150 women 18–50 years of age from the Lumbee Tribe in southeastern North Carolina. We describe lessons learned and strategies used in developing a community‐engaged approach to enhance recruitment of American Indian women in biomedical research. The empirical data and community infrastructure resulting from this study will be foundational in designing and testing future interventions to reduce CVD‐associated morbidity and mortality in American Indian women.