Dr. Andrea Huseth-Zosel in the NDSU Department of Public Health and a research team from the American Indian Public Health Resource Center have been awarded a two-year $400,000 research grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Studies have shown that the level of education regarding women’s health, attitudes, practices, and hygiene needs during menstruation play a role in determining poor health and education outcomes. In addition, limited research is available that takes into account cultural, racial and income differences.
“Although school-based education interventions exist for students, none are culturally-tailored for indigenous communities,” explained Vanessa Tibbitts, program leader of the American Indian Public Health Resource Center who is part of the research team. “The research will help tailor interventions addressing educational disparities for American Indian adolescent females.”
A previous pilot study showed that female students reported challenges at school such as limited access to hygiene products, inadequate time for addressing such needs, and impacts on school attendance. Teacher surveys from an earlier study showed that teachers perceived student experiences at school to be predominately negative, stressful, and embarrassing for adolescent girls and negatively impacted their learning environment.
Prior to any research, the American Indian Public Health Resource Center will engage community consultants, tribal councils and tribal ethical review boards for research approval, data sovereignty plans, and agreements with tribal communities for data sharing and ownership.
"It is important that tribal community members are involved in the planning and implementation of the project and that the outcomes of the research benefit tribal communities,” said Ryan Eagle, research manager at the American Indian Public Health Resource Center.
Members of the research team include Vanessa Tibbitts, program leader, and Ryan Eagle, research manager from the American Indian Public Health Resource Center at NDSU, along with Huseth-Zosel and Dr. Molly Secor-Turner of Montana State University.
The research by the team is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21HD107272. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and NDSU Department of Public Health and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
The American Indian Public Health Resource Center (AIPHRC) engages and partners with tribes to improve the delivery of culturally appropriate public health services and functions in American Indian communities. The Center helps to address American Indian public health disparities through technical assistance, policy development, self-determination feasibility analysis, education, research, and programming in partnership with tribes, in North Dakota, across the Northern Plains, and the nation.
The NDSU Public Health program offers classes both on-campus and through distance learning technology, with a mission to develop and empower public health leaders through interprofessional education, practice, and research.