# Collaborative Hub to Reduce the Burden of Suicide among Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Youth

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2021 · $1,068,050

## Abstract

OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY
 Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Natives
(AI/AN) ages 10-34, and is up to 6 times higher than for their White counterparts. Native youth
also suffer a disproportionate burden of suicide risk factors, including mental health disorders,
traumatic life events, and substance abuse. These findings derive largely from research in rural,
reservation settings. Yet we know the “invisible tribe” in our cities faces enormous challenges
stemming from lack of connection with traditional family and cultural environments. These
challenges contribute to the notably greater risk of urban AI/AN youth and young adults (YYAs)
compared to their non-AI/AN counterparts for attempted suicide (21% vs. 7%), as well as for
depression, substance abuse, gang activity, teen pregnancy, and abuse. Yet calls for thoughtful,
pragmatic research to inform suicide prevention among urban AI/AN YYAs have not been
answered until now.
 Our response to RFA-MH-17-350, which seeks to establish collaborative hubs to reduce the
burden of suicide among AI/AN YYAs, promises to redress the imbalance between urban and
rural emphases in suicide prevention research. The central study, “Suicide Prevention for Urban
Native Kids and Youth (SPUNKY),” builds on Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to
Treatment (SBIRT) carried out through primary care setting, to detect and manage suicide risk.
This approach is multilevel, targeting both the healthcare system and the individual, and links
screening to existing mobile phone technologies shown to promote resilience and to tap the
protective benefits of social connectedness.
This Collaborative Hub will: 1) evaluate existing SBIRT programs to identify and address factors
that affect implementation and prevention of suicide among AI/AN YYA patients served by the
Seattle Indian Health Board and First Nations Community Healthsource, the country's largest
urban Indian health organizations; 2) conduct a randomized control trial that compares the
effectiveness of enhancing these SBIRT programs by sending caring text messages to reduce
suicidal ideation, attempts, and hospitalizations, and to increase engagement, social
connectedness, and resilience, and 3) perform a systematic economic evaluation of SBIRT and
its enhancements to determine their relative effects on the use of healthcare resources and
quality of life. Our long-term goal is to disseminate and translate the lessons learned into
practical policy, organizational changes, and preventive innovations that optimize patient-
centered health outcomes and ultimately reduce or eliminate the dramatic and tragic suicide-
related health disparities among urban AI/AN YYAs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10186825
- **Project number:** 5U19MH113135-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** SPERO MARTIN MANSON
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,068,050
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10186825

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10186825, Collaborative Hub to Reduce the Burden of Suicide among Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Youth (5U19MH113135-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10186825. Licensed CC0.

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