Promoting Indigenous Wellness Through Community-Lent Healing and Knowledge
Official title: Promoting Community Wellbeing Through Indigenous Science and Healing
Funded at Washington State University · NIH-11534643 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A Native-serving research program collaborates with Indigenous communities to improve wellbeing and relieve harm from opioids and pain by using local strengths and culturally-led approaches.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pullman, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,618,917 |
| NIH project number | 3OT2DA061134-01S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11534643 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are AI/AN individuals and Alaska Native communities affected by opioid/stimulant harms, chronic pain, trauma, or related health issues who participate through community-led programs and data activities.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not engaged with AI/AN community-led initiatives or not residing in AI/AN communities may experience limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
This grant supports Native Tribes and Native Serving Organizations to lead community-prioritized research, build local research capacity, and improve data for decisions that affect wellness. It emphasizes community control, local leadership, and culturally grounded strategies to address pain, trauma, and substance use. Researchers will partner with AI/AN communities in Alaska and beyond to co-create solutions that fit their values and priorities. The project aims to strengthen community infrastructure so these communities can sustain beneficial health outcomes over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, AI/AN communities may experience healthier wellbeing, safer responses to pain, and stronger local research capacity to guide decisions.
How similar studies have gone: This approach builds on growing evidence that community-led research improves relevance and uptake of health interventions in Indigenous populations.
Where this research is happening
-
Washington State University
Pullman, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mcdonell, Michael G — Washington State University
- Study coordinator: Mcdonell, Michael G
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing at Harvard
A national-scale program at Harvard investigates how work environments affect people’s health and safety, with aims to make workplaces healthier for workers.
-
Parental Incarceration and Child Health: A Long-Term View
This project studies how having a parent in the criminal justice system affects a child’s health and wellbeing from birth through young adulthood.
-
Longitudinal health and aging study in Kenya
A large, long-term study in Kenya will track health, well-being, economics, and aging in adults 45 and older to understand rising aging needs and risk factors for dementia.
-
Sensory aging and dementia research network to speed care and policy
A five-year program at Johns Hopkins will strengthen an international research network to better understand how senses, aging, and late-life wellbeing relate to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, with the aim of turning findings into practical care and policy improvements.
-
Collaborating Center for Arthritis Care Tools and a Coordinating Center for an Arthritis Management & Wellbeing Network
A coordinated NIH program aims to improve how primary care providers refer people with arthritis to evidence-based, self-management programs and to boost participation, especially among groups facing disparities.
-
Intergenerational Native American Wellbeing Program
A small, early-phase project tests a culturally grounded health program for Elders and youth in Native American communities to improve connection and reduce despair-related health risks.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.