CTN-0129: The Great Plains Initiative
Donald Warne, MD, MPH
Co-Lead Investigator
Johns Hopkins University
dwarne1@jhu.edu
T. John Winhusen, PhD
Co-Lead Investigator
University of Cincinnati
winhust@ucmail.uc.edu
The Great Plains Initiative has two primary aims. Aim 1 is to determine community-defined needs for identifying and addressing substance use issues in order to create a Great Plains American Indian substance use research agenda. Such issues may involve a broad range of topics, such as specific substance misuse, barriers to treatment, the role of historical trauma in substance use, mistrust of research, and others as determined through the Community-based participatory research process. Aim 2 is to explore the feasibility of promoting the use of telehealth platforms to promote access to and utilization of medication for opioid use disorder treatment in tribal communities in the Great Plains.
Primary Findings
Aim 1 outcomes: The qualitative data analysis identified four themes: (1) Challenges with Treatment and Recovery, (2) Impact of Substance Use, (3) Reasons for Substance Use, (4) Solutions and Research Priorities. The findings highlight barriers to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment ranging from policy issues to lack of funding.
Aim 1 Outcomes Article: Luger B, Kihlström A, Sivaramakrishnan B, Kelliher A, Kropp F, Rosa C, Winhusen TJ, Warne D. A community-driven approach to address substance use and create a Great Plains American Indian addiction and recovery research agenda. American Journal of Community Psychology 2025 (in press). [get article]
Aim 2 outcomes: After coding and analysis, 6 themes emerged: current access, acceptability in Tribal Communities, facilitators, barriers, payment considerations, and policies that support tele-MOUD. Telemedicine for the provision of MOUD appears, from this qualitative analysis, to be a feasible way to expand access to care for opioid use disorder in Great Plains Tribal Communities.
Aim 2 Outcomes Article: Harding MC, Kihlstrom AC, Kelliher A, Rosa C, Kropp FB, Winhusen TJ, Warne DK. Exploring the use of telemedicine to expand addiction and recovery resources in Great Plains Tribal Communities. Journal of Rural Health 2026;42(1):e70113. [get article]
Related Resources
Node Involvement
Lead Node(s):
All Participating Nodes: