# Engaging scientists and communities to address the impacts of substance abuse on American Indian and Alaska Native children and families: The Native Children's Research Exchange Annual Meetings

> **NIH NIH R13** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2022 · $22,010

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In the midst of the current opioid crisis, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations continue to face
longstanding significant substance abuse inequities. The National Institutes of Health has increased efforts to
address these inequities through investing in research to understand the root causes of substance abuse in
these populations and in studies focused on effective prevention and intervention. Additional efforts include the
establishment of the Tribal Health Research Office at the NIH in 2015 and the launch of the Intervention
Research to Improve Native American Health Initiative in 2012. While gains are being made, they are
incremental, slowed by many complexities encountered in research with diverse AIAN populations. The
researchers who are part of the Native Children's Research Exchange (NCRE) are very aware of these
challenges – and of the pressing need to address them. Community partners make us keenly aware that too
many children in AIAN communities are growing up exposed to substance abuse, putting them at risk for
disrupted social, emotional, and even physical development and, later, for developing their own substance use
problems. Our research confirms what these partners are telling us. As an organization of researchers and
community research partners who work together to understand the development of AIAN children, NCRE is
poised foster innovative research to address the impact of the current substance abuse crisis on these
children. Since 2008, NCRE has hosted conferences for researchers working with AIAN children and
adolescents, bringing them together to share research findings and discuss the most pressing agendas for
developmental science in AIAN cultures. Many NCRE members are themselves directly engaged in substance
use research; others recognize the implications of substance abuse on children's development. The collective
expertise of this group will be focused to address the impacts of substance abuse on AIAN children and
families, to address three specific aims: (1) host NCRE conferences in 2020, 2021 and 2022 to bring together
child development researchers and AIAN community partners, particularly those whose efforts focus on the
impact of substance abuse on children's development and the development of substance abuse; (2) focus
NCRE conference themes on substance abuse and development and invite keynote speakers who will
enhance the ability of researchers to bring the best science available to help reduce the impact of substance
abuse on AIAN children and families; and (3) structure NCRE conferences to facilitate meaningful dialogue
among academic researchers and community research partners, support effective dissemination of research
findings to diverse stakeholder groups, provide networking opportunities to build collaborative relationships,
and connect new investigators with senior mentors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197868
- **Project number:** 5R13DA051122-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle C Sarche
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $22,010
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197868

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197868, Engaging scientists and communities to address the impacts of substance abuse on American Indian and Alaska Native children and families: The Native Children's Research Exchange Annual Meetings (5R13DA051122-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197868. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*