Food pantries serve populations with high rates of chronic disease and thus may be ideal settings for community-based health promotion programs. This study aimed to describe the readiness of food pantry organizations (n = 69) and their personnel (n = 129) to engage in nutrition-focused food pantry services, including nutrition education and the application of dietary guidelines for disease prevention and management as components of existing food assistance programs. Among survey respondents, few personnel reported asking clients about chronic disease diagnoses or providing clients with nutrition education, and over half reported lower confidence in performing these activities. Yet, the majority were interested in training to address client health needs. However, organizational capacity is currently restricted by lack of nutrition policies and limited healthy food inventory, including fruits and vegetables. To address the nutritional needs of clients, food pantries may benefit from in-person training and additional resources to obtain and distribute healthier foods.

In rural Native American communities, access to healthy foods is limited and diet-related disparities are significant. Tribally owned and operated convenience stores, small food stores that sell ready-to-eat foods and snacks primarily high in fat and sugar, serve as the primary and, in some areas, the only food stores. The Tribal Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments or "THRIVE" study, implemented between 2013 and 2018, is the first healthy retail intervention study implemented in tribally owned and operated convenience stores. THRIVE aims to increase vegetable and fruit intake among Native Americans living within the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The study comprises three phases: 1) formative research assessing tribal community food environments and associated health outcomes; 2) intervention development to assess convenience stores and tailor healthy retail product, pricing, promotion, and placement strategies; and 3) intervention implementation and evaluation. In this paper we share the participatory research process employed by our tribal-university partnership to develop this healthy retail intervention within the unique contexts of tribal convenience stores. We summarize our methods to engage tribal leaders across diverse health, government, and commerce sectors and adapt and localize intervention strategies that test the ability of tribal nations to increase fruit and vegetable purchasing and consumption among tribal members. Study processes will assist in developing a literature base for policy and environmental strategies that intervene broadly to improve Native community food environments and eliminate diet-related disparities among Native Americans.

Background. The current study describes concurrent use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (CiST) among males and females and evaluates factors associated with CiST use.Methods. Cross-sectional data were drawn from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Weighted stratified analyses were performed to find associations between CiST use and sociodemographic factors by gender. CiST users were compared to three different tobacco use groups: nonusers, exclusive smokers, and exclusive ST users.Results. Younger age and heavy alcohol consumption were consistently associated with increased odds of CiST use among both males and females, and regardless of comparison group. Among males, education was inversely related to CiST use, and these findings were consistent in all three comparisons. Among women, those unable to work or out of work were more likely to be CiST users, which was consistent across comparisons. American Indian females had higher odds of CiST use than White females when nontobacco users or smokers were the comparison group.Conclusion. This study identified sociodemographic characteristics associated with CiST use, and differences in these associations among women and men. Additionally, this study highlights the need to carefully consider what comparison groups should be used to examine factors associated with CiST use.

In 2019, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was the leading cause of death among 60 notifiable infectious diseases in the US and contributed to increasing rates of liver-related mortality.^1-3 This infection disproportionately affects American Indian and Alaska Native individuals, with an estimated incidence of 2.9 per 100 000 population, more than twice that of all other racial/ethnic groups^1,4; the rate of HCV-related deaths in this population is 10.2-fold higher than that in the general US population.⁵