2006 Intern

    Project title: A closer look as the smoke clears: Evaluating the Validity of Reported Rates of American Indian Youth Tobacco Use

• School/program/major:  UNC Chapel Hill – School of Medicine
• Expected graduation date/degree: May 2009; M.D.
• Where did you grow up?  Portland, OR
• Who have been the primary role models in your life?  My mom, my great Aunt Patty
• Where you see yourself in 10 years?  Practicing medicine
• Title of your project this summer?  Evaluating the Validity of Reported Rates of American Indian Youth Tobacco Use
• Brief description of your project(s) this summer?  My project this summer and for the next year is to research the statistics reported in studies and other resources regarding tobacco use rates among Native American youth.  As I research these statistics I am comparing the different reported values and considering the consistency of reported values and ultimately evaluating their validity.  Because there are so many different tribes throughout the U.S. with varying culture, customs, economic situations, and health issues, it is important to determine whether statistical values that are attached to Native Americans as a whole truly apply to each of those different groups.  My research project stems from the concern that the tobacco use rates for Native American youth as a whole are really only representative of a few specific groups that have been sampled by researchers.  The goal of these studies should be to accurately represent the issue of tobacco use, clearly identifying the group in which a health disparity exists.  I hope that my research will help clarify whether a health disparity exists for tobacco use with all Native Americans or only specific regional or tribal groups within the Native American community.  Such a distinction will serve well to provide appropriate intervention, prevention, and tobacco cessation programs. 
• Description of one person you met this summer that models positive work being done in American Indian communities to address health disparities?  I really admire the work that Dr. Joseph Bell is doing in Pembroke, NC.  I felt as though his work as a pediatrician in the community where he grew up embodies the effort that should be made by physicians to address health disparities.  These health issues are most effectively dealt with when there is trust between doctor and patient.  Dr. Bell has a better shot at earning that trust as a lifelong member of the community than anyone else. 

• One major hurdle that you encountered in your work this summer?  Time; reading all of the research that has been done related to Native American youth tobacco use and considering what the statistics really takes a lot of time.  This is an important project and to do it right requires a great deal of time.  For me this has been a bit frustrating because I would like to help make a difference right away.  Still, I realize that this is an important issue and I hope that I can do it justice.

• Something you learned about yourself this summer?  This summer, I learned quite a bit from my mom about our Cherokee ancestors who lived in Northern Georgia and parts of North Carolina.  This knowledge made the NHI trip to Cherokee, NC extremely relevant and I feel as though I have discovered a part of me that I never knew was there.

• Something you learned about American Indian communities this summer?  Having visited multiple American Indian communities this summer, I realize how different these communities can be even when they exist in the same state.  Along with the research I have been doing, this realization helped emphasize to me how important it is to consider the specific characteristics of individual communities in order to effectively work to resolve issues that exist in those communities. 

• What advice/recommendation would you give to future NHI volunteers? You can learn a lot if you keep any open mind and try to look at issues from a perspective you might never have considered before.