High-Risk Outreach for COVID-19 Mortality Reduction in an Indigenous Community
Myles Stone, Ryan Close, Christopher Jentoft, Katherine Pocock, Gwendena Lee‐Gatewood, Brooke I. Grow, Kristen H. Parker, April Twarkins, J. T. Nashio, James McAuley
Abstract
Indigenous populations have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19, particularly those in rural and remote locations. Their unique environments and risk factors demand an equally unique public health response. Our rural Native American community experienced one of the highest prevalence outbreaks in the world, and we developed an aggressive management strategy that appears to have had a considerable effect on mortality reduction. The results have implications far beyond pandemic response, and have reframed how our community addresses several complicated health challenges. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(11):1939–1941. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306472 )