Yakama Nation community program to prevent suicide and opioid overdoses
Official title: Yakama Nation: Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness Program
Funded at Yakama Tribal Council D/b/a Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation · NIH-11375715 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A community-led effort using Yakama cultural practices, local conversations, and better data to reduce suicide and fentanyl overdoses among Yakama Nation members.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yakama Tribal Council D/b/a Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Toppenish, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $570,523 |
| NIH project number | 3OT2DA060972-01S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11375715 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are Yakama Nation residents, community leaders, clinic staff, and people or families affected by substance use or suicide risk within the Yakama community.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not live on or near the Yakama Nation or who need immediate medical emergency care are unlikely to directly benefit from this program.
What this research studies
This project partners the Yakama Nation with university researchers to adapt a culturally based conversation program (PC CARES-DO) that centers local knowledge to prevent suicide and opioid overdose. Community members, clinics, and leaders will help shape and oversee the program while the team builds data systems to track suicide risk, attempts, deaths, and overdose indicators at individual, clinic, and community levels. The effort includes training, timely feedback of data for local decision-making, and strengthening local research capacity so the Yakama Nation can lead future studies. Activities will be co-designed with community oversight to ensure cultural fit and community trust.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lower suicide and fentanyl overdose deaths in the Yakama Nation and give the community better, faster data to guide responses.
How similar studies have gone: Culturally adapted, community-led conversation programs have shown promise for suicide prevention in Indigenous communities, though combining that approach with fentanyl overdose prevention is a newer application.
Where this research is happening
-
Yakama Tribal Council D/b/a Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
Toppenish, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Saluskin, Katherine R — Yakama Tribal Council D/b/a Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
- Study coordinator: Saluskin, Katherine R
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.