Time-to-Treatment for Myocardial Infarction: Barriers and Facilitators Perceived by American Indians in Three Regions

Early recognition of acute myocardial infarction (MI), followed by prompt emergency care, improves patient outcomes. Among rural American Indian (AI) populations there are disparities in access to care for MI and processes of care, resulting in poor MI-related health outcomes compared to the general population. We sought to gain an understanding of barriers related to MI time-to-treatment delays using a qualitative approach. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with AI key informants and community members in three Indian Health Service regions. Major barriers to care included long travel distance to care and lack of supporting infrastructure; distrust of the health care system; low overall literacy and basic health literacy; priority of family care-giving; and lack of specialized medical facilities and specialists. Findings suggest that improved time-to-treatment facilitators include educating the local community about the causes and consequences of MI and culturally-sensitive health communication, as well as addressing the quality of local systems of care and the community's perception of these systems. Pursuing these strategies may improve quality of care and reduce MI-related morbidity and mortality in rural AI populations.

Trends and disparities in heart disease mortality among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 1990-2009

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated heart disease death rates among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and Whites after improving identification of AI/AN populations.

METHODS

Indian Health Service (IHS) registration data were linked to the National Death Index for 1990 to 2009 to identify deaths among AI/AN persons aged 35 years and older with heart disease listed as the underlying cause of death (UCOD) or 1 of multiple causes of death (MCOD). We restricted analyses to IHS Contract Health Service Delivery Areas and to non-Hispanic populations.

RESULTS

Heart disease death rates were higher among AI/AN persons than Whites from 1999 to 2009 (1.21 times for UCOD, 1.30 times for MCOD). Disparities were highest in younger age groups and in the Northern Plains, but lowest in the East and Southwest. In AI/AN persons, MCOD rates were 84% higher than UCOD rates. From 1990 to 2009, UCOD rates declined among Whites, but only declined significantly among AI/AN persons after 2003.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysis with improved race identification indicated that AI/AN populations experienced higher heart disease death rates than Whites. Better prevention and more effective care of heart disease is needed for AI/AN populations.

Historical trends and regional differences in all-cause and amenable mortality among American Indians and Alaska Natives since 1950

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) death rates declined over most of the 20th century, even before the Public Health Service became responsible for health care in 1956. Since then, rates have declined further, although they have stagnated since the 1980s. These overall patterns obscure substantial regional differences. Most significant, rates in the Northern and Southern Plains have declined far less since 1949 to 1953 than those in the East, Southwest, or Pacific Coast. Data for Alaska are not available for the earlier period, so its trajectory of mortality cannot be ascertained. Socioeconomic measures do not adequately explain the differences and rates of change, but migration, changes in self-identification as an AI/AN person, interracial marriage, and variations in health care effectiveness all appear to be implicated.

Linking stress and injury in the farming environment: a secondary analysis of qualitative data

The first step in injury prevention is to understand the injury problem. This includes examining the nature of the problem from the perspective of the target community. This article uses qualitative methods to explain the nature of the injury problem and identifies prevention strategies through a three-step process: identify a causal model, validate the model, and identify strategies using the causal model. A causal model linking safety performance and safety demand, health decision making, and occupational stress was derived by secondary analysis of farm family focus group data (step 1) and validated by other farm family focus groups (step 2). Prevention strategies identified from the causal model (step 3) include decreasing the number of roles performed exclusively by one individual, developing an easy-to-use planning tool that assists farmers in anticipating and reducing future work demands, and developing an education module that incorporates injury costs into safety decision making.