The Comanche Nation’s Tribal Opioid Response “Red Road Recovery Project” will expand and enhance access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services for Tribal Citizens and members of surrounding communities who are diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) and are seeking or receiving MAT. Our Tribal jurisdiction is not located on a traditional reservation but spans bi-cultural communities under shared jurisdictions with Oklahoma governmental systems. The Comanche Nation is a federally recognized tribe with tribal enrollment numbers totaling 17,000 with roughly 7,000 members residing Southwest Oklahoma.
To reach our project goals of increasing the number of individuals with OUD receiving MAT and seeing a decrease in illicit opioid use and prescription drug misuse at 6-month follow-up our treatment regimen will adhere to the evidence-based 2016 RAND Corporation’s MAT Guidebook for Health Center’s four phases of Assessment, Induction, Stabilization, & Maintenance. To increase the capacity of our Tribe to address our opioid crisis long-term we will adopt a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) approach. The ROSC will support our MAT efforts with added components of outreach, expansion of recovery supportive services, formal collaborations, community education to reduce stigma, and professional workforce development.
The evidence-based modalities we will use include Quick Screen (QS) from the National Institute for Drug Awareness, which is an evidence-based practice appropriate for all adult populations, including our population of focus: Native Americans. It is used to increase identification of patient’s risk of substance abuse disorder and to determine the severity of those substance abuse issues. We will also use the Brief Negotiation Interview (BNI) model developed by the Yale College of Medicine, used to increase the identification of candidates and the readiness for MAT services and is appropriate for all adult populations, including Native Americans