Portland Area Indian Health Service & the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board – 2011
The Northwest Tribal Substance Abuse Action Plan is the product of a collaborative planning process initiated by the Northwest Portland Area
Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) in 2010. NPAIHB began meeting with regional partners in early in the year to identify priority issues and concerns
related to substance abuse prevention and treatment, particularly related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD). Partner meetings were held
in conjunction with the QBM Behavioral Health Committee, the Native Adolescent Health Alliance, quarterly meetings of the Oregon 9-tribes
Prevention Summit, and the WA Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Education Conference. Meeting participants included tribal health
representatives, the Indian Health Service, NPAIHB, State Health Departments, University partners, and other organizations that work closely with
the NW tribes. The plan spans a five year period, and includes the 43 federally-recognized tribes located in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
The planning process involved multiple phases, beginning with a review of substance abuse rates, and risk and protective factors for American
Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) living in this region. To inform the planning process, the team then gathered more information about available
and needed substance abuse services, and assessed the capacity of the region’s tribes to address substance abuse at the community level.
Questions adapted from the Community Readiness Model were discussed at length with regional partners, and explored a broad array of related
topics, including prevention activities, treatment services, and perceptions about community knowledge, action, climate, and concern. This
information was then used to collaboratively select and design intervention strategies that were responsive to the current level of community
capacity and readiness within the Northwest tribes.
A draft of the Northwest Tribal Substance Abuse Action Plan was completed in November 2010, and circulated among partners for critical review
and feedback. Once complete, the plan was reviewed by the delegates of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and the Behavioral
Health Committee. A resolution supporting the plan’s implementation was passed in January 2011.