Project Summary: California Rural Indian Health Board, Inc. (CRIHB) will implement the California Rural Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) project in rural Tribal communities in Northern California to address opioid use disorder by incorporating culturally appropriate and traditional indigenous practices in prevention and public awareness, intervention, and treatment programming, as well as provide services to address stimulant misuse and use disorders as part of prevention activities.
Populations to be Served: CRIHB will partner with five consortium member Tribal Health Programs (THPs): Anav Tribal Health Clinic in Siskiyou County; Sonoma County Indian Health Project, Inc. in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Marin Counties; Toiyabe Indian Health Project, Inc. in Inyo and Mono Counties; Tule River Indian Health Center, Inc. in Tulare County; and Warner Mountain Indian Health Program in Modoc County. The TOR project will enhance relevant THP staff qualifications and improve health and quality of life for 200 unduplicated American Indian Alaska Native (AIAN) residents annually.
Project Goals and Objectives: The CRIHB TOR project has the following goals: increase medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services at participating THPs; partner with CRIHB workforce development programs to implement relevant Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) prevention training for Tribal health care workers; utilize an intergenerational, multifaceted approach in the prevention of OUD and overdose for elders, youth, and other vulnerable populations; implement Tribal Youth Council public awareness campaign addressing opioids, stimulant use, and related risk factors; enable participating THPS to administer a full spectrum of treatment and recovery services; provide assistance to patients with treatment costs and develop strategies to eliminate or reduce treatment costs for under and uninsured AIAN patients; work with the Program Evaluator to assess the impact of the project activities.
To meet its TOR objectives, CRIHB will implement the following activities: all five participating THPs will continue to provide MAT services, or have agreements with local MAT providers for referral; provide at least four relevant trainings to the participants of the CRIHB workforce development program; provide at least six training courses at CRIHB's Research and Public Health Department-sponsored training courses; provide at least six activities targeted at elder education; modify existing OUD education campaign materials to match strategic messaging needs for participating THPs; partner with at least five organizations to help increase education and services for specific vulnerable populations within rural, Tribal communities; partner with CRIHB's Tribal MAT project and naloxone-distributing programs to ensure the medication's availability. In addition, all participating THPs Tribal Youth Council will lead two opioid and stimulant use prevention meetings for youth in their community. All participating THPs will collaborate with CRIHB's Youth Board to create opioid safety and prevention messaging to be shared on CRIHB's social media. The five participating THPs will be designated hubs or continue to have agreements with their local hub in the California Hub and Spoke System. The hubs will provide at least two (one per year) training courses to participating THP staff on youth-specific service delivery and discharge planning. They will provide at least two (one per year) x-waiver training courses for participating THPs and qualified practitioners. CRIHB will create a peer support group schedule for each of the five participating THPs. CRIHB will inform participating THPs how subcontract funds can be utilized for patient treatment costs. CRIHB will complete eight quarterly reports (four per year) to track and report on the impact of the grant.