Publications by authors named "Meenakshi Richardson"

Background: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities experienced a disproportionate increase in opioid-related fatal and non-fatal poisonings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to treatment, such as medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), became even more critical, although research among this population is limited. We completed qualitative interviews with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers (i.

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The aims of the current study included gathering cultural knowledge and stories regarding parenting young children within a Tribal community and learning community members' perspectives on key components of a promising parenting prevention program. Qualitative data were drawn from a focus group including seven participants and semi-structured phone interviews with 21 additional participants, all of whom were parenting children in the community. Hybrid coding and applied thematic analysis revealed five themes: (1) Desire to Learn and Gain Parenting Skills; (2) Relationships and the Caregiver Role; (3) Culture and Caregiving, which included subthemes of Diversity Among Tribal Bands, Intergenerational Knowledge Sharing, and Reconnection and Revitalization; (4) Historical Trauma and Behavioral Health; and (5) Curriculum Terminology Considerations.

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The past quarter century of infant development research has seen a marked lack of attention paid to Indigenous populations. This narrative review outlines the empirical literature on infant and early childhood health among Indigenous families in the United States and Canada, within the context of intergenerational trauma and government policies that have contributed to social and health inequities across the lifespan. We illuminate a woven throughline toward traditional pathways for healing and amplify the critical value of transitioning from deficit-based to strength-based models.

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Background: Many Burmese refugees to the United States experience multimorbidity primarily from displacement. Immigrant and refugee community leaders have identified communication with service providers and minimal community support as challenges.

Objectives: To center the experiences and perceptions of Burmese refugees regarding health and well-being.

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Indigenous lifeways, perspectives, and ways of knowing in the field of infant and early childhood mental health are underrepresented, especially given the inequitable and unjust prevalence of removal and separation of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children from their families and communities by the child welfare system in the United States. Strengthening the infant and early childhood mental health field requires uncovering and addressing the ways in which colonization has intentionally attempted to disrupt and destroy Indigenous family relationships, especially bonds with young children, both historically and perpetuated into the present day. The current article reviews the historical context of Indian child removal as a result of colonization, cultural revitalization efforts, and decolonial frameworks that inform culturally grounded intervention strategies advancing the field of infant and early childhood mental health.

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Introduction: American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities are more likely to suffer negative consequences related to substance misuse. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the opioid poisoning crisis, in combination with ongoing treatment barriers resulting from settler-colonialism, systemic oppression and racial discrimination. AI/AN adults are at greatest risk of COVID-19 related serious illness and death.

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Healthy Indigenous child development is grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Attachment theory has been influential in understanding the significance of parenting for infant development in Western science but has focused on child-caregiver bonds predominantly within the parent-child dyad. To bring forth Indigenous perspectives regarding understandings of parenting, the attachment bond, and the well-being of Indigenous children, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 members of a Northwest tribal community (21 female) in spring and summer 2020.

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Introduction: Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) science is growing among Indigenous communities. Indigenous communities are adapting and implementing evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders (SUD) to fit the needs of their communities. D&I science offers frameworks, models, and theories to increase implementation success, but research is needed to center Indigenous knowledge, enhancing D&I so that it is more applicable within Indigenous contexts.

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Article Synopsis
  • Two randomized controlled trials showed that culturally adapted contingency management helped reduce substance use among American Indian and Alaska Native adults by providing incentives for negative urine samples.
  • A collaborative approach involving AI/AN community partners helped refine and implement this management strategy, addressing challenges and developing training tools for successful adoption.
  • The research identified policy barriers, such as inadequate funding and unclear regulations, which hinder the use of contingency management, and highlighted the need for federal reforms to support evidence-based treatment for AI/AN communities.
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Background: Asian American (AA) community leaders, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NH/PI) community leaders, and allies in the United States Pacific Northwest expressed concern that there are families and children from AA communities and NH/PI communities who experience and witness acts of xenophobia and racism. This can cause racial trauma. The long-time practice of aggregating AA and NH/PI data contributes to erasure and makes it challenging to advance health equity, such as allocating resources.

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Objective: Indigenous peoples are at elevated risk of exposure to trauma and related mental and physical health difficulties that are rooted in the ongoing experience of settler-colonialism. Historical and current trauma exposure feed intergenerational cycles that compromise the healthy development of Indigenous children.

Method: We conducted a systematic review of trauma-focused, caregiver-child interventions adapted for Indigenous communities.

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