PROJECT TITLE: Southwest Tribal NARCH X Administrative Core PROGRAM DIRECTOR/PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Kevin English Project Summary/Abstract The Southwest Tribal NARCH X Administrative Core will provide overall leadership to the Center and will coordinate, integrate, and support the various Center components and activities in order to fulfill the overall NARCH mission, which is to implement health research projects prioritized by area tribes, reduce distrust of research among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, and enhance health research partnerships to reduce AI/AN health disparities, while promoting a cadre of AI/AN scientific and health research professionals. The Southwest Tribal NARCH X Administrative Core will be based at the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board, Inc. (AAIHB), an intertribal organization, which has extensive experience in the oversight of prior NARCH grants (NARCH I, NARCH III, NARCH V), and currently administers a NARCH VII grant. The Southwest Tribal NARCH X Administrative Core will help fulfill the major aims and goals of all Center components by pursuing the following specific aims: 1) establish a sustainable structure which will facilitate the conduct of Southwest Tribal NARCH X work by providing administrative and technical support as well as by stimulating exchange among all proposed Center components in collaboration with academic and tribal partners; 2) maintain the Southwest Tribal NARCH Community and Scientific Advisory Council (CSAC) to ensure rigorous tribal oversight of all Southwest Tribal NARCH components and activities and foster sustained alignment with tribal priorities and key cultural considerations; and 3) support the continued operation of the Southwest Tribal Institutional Review Board (IRB) to advance the benefits of ethical health research to area tribes and reduce AI/AN community distrust of research and researchers by giving tribes greater control over the research process. Expected outcomes of the Southwest Tribal NARCH X Administrative Core include rigorous tribal oversight of all Southwest Tribal NARCH X components, continued alignment of Southwest Tribal NARCH X components and activities with tribal priorities and important cultural considerations, enhanced protection for individual and community research participants, streamlined IRB review processes, enhanced research alliances among all partners (AAIHB, tribes, and academic partners), and manuscripts and professional presentations highlighting key findings of all Southwest Tribal NARCH X research and innovations.
