# Implementing a multistage optimization strategy to identify the best combination of program adaptations to promote breastfeeding at the Lummi Indian Reservation

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $1

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The overall goal of this K01 award is to support Dr. Long in becoming an independent investigator specializing
in the use of cutting edge implementation methods to address health inequities and improve the health of birthing
parents and infants. The focal point of the proposed research is to adapt an existing national breastfeeding
program to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration in American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN)
communities. Breastfeeding provides enormous immediate and long-term health benefits for both infants and
birthing people, reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes, and death in children, and cancer, diabetes, and
cardiovascular diseases in birthing people. However, there are important racial and ethnic disparities in
breastfeeding rates in the United States, and AI/AN communities are both less likely to breastfeed and are at
greater risk for many of the adverse health outcomes that breastfeeding protects against. This proposed research
will use methods grounded in community engagement and health equity to assess barriers to breastfeeding
among AI/AN residents at the Lummi Indian Reservation, and then test adaptations designed to address those
barriers and improve breastfeeding uptake and duration. The proposed work will use a novel optimization design
that will allow for multiple strategies to be tested and will place priority on both efficacy and cost of program
adaptations. The specific aims of this proposal are: 1) to assess barriers to breastfeeding in Lummi parents and
identify adaptations to the existing promotion program to address those barriers; 2) to test adaptations to the
program to identify an optimal adapted program; and 3) to determine acceptability, appropriateness, and
feasibility of the adapted components. This proposed work has been designed to address a key public health
priority identified by leadership at Lummi Tribal Health Center, and the work will be carried out in partnership
with Lummi Tribal Health Center leaders and in collaboration with a community advisory board.
These research aims are one aspect of a comprehensive training plan designed in coordination with an
exemplary interdisciplinary mentorship team. Dr. Long will receive mentorship, training, and coursework in
implementation science, community-based participatory research, and integration of health equity into research
design. The specific training goals of this proposal include 1) gaining proficiency in the use of implementation
science frameworks; 2) learning and applying advanced implementation science study designs; and 3) learning
to conduct ethical equity-focused implementation research. The final goal is to provide Dr. Long with mentorship
and support in career development, and this research and training plan will provide opportunities to publish
original research, present at conferences and workshops, and gain visibility within her field. The resulting data
from the proposed research will provide the basis for an R...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10570412
- **Project number:** 1K01MD018065-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Jessica Long
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-25 → 2024-07-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10570412

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10570412, Implementing a multistage optimization strategy to identify the best combination of program adaptations to promote breastfeeding at the Lummi Indian Reservation (1K01MD018065-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10570412. Licensed CC0.

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