Dr. Marian Wilson’s research combines pain management expertise with Indigenous-led health initiatives. Dr. Wilson, Associate Professor at Washington State University (WSU) College of Nursing, and Dr. Mike McDonell, WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, currently co-lead a project in a tribally operated clinic that examines how cannabis affects pain outcomes. Supported by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Drug Abuse through a grant awarded via the Native American Research Centers for Health (PI: Stacy Rasmus, PhD), this project has gathered data from interviews and surveys with nearly 300 adults with pain to explore and describe Indigenous perspectives on pain relief. This was a tribally-driven project resulting from the Puyallup Tribe’s own desire to integrate research into clinical care. Details about the project can be found in this paper, Cannabis for Healing in a Native Community Clinic: Development and Results from an Informatics Research Tool.
A secondary focus for this project was to train Native American students in culturally relevant research. Two graduate students in Prevention Science and the PharmD program have been instrumental to this project, sharing their findings at national conferences and helping develop presentations on effective research partnerships with Native American communities. The team’s approach to research was also highlighted by a recent poster led by Naomi M. Bender, PhD (Quechua), Director of WSU’s Native American Health Sciences and WSU’s Center for Native American Health, “Implementing Decolonizing Research Methods in an Academic Partnership with a Tribally Owned Clinic,” presented at the 2024 National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE). This approach aims to honor Indigenous knowledge and foster mutual respect in academic partnerships, reflecting WSU’s commitment to community-driven, culturally sensitive health research.
Dr. Wilson and Dr. McDonell are also part of a team that recently received $2.2 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for their project, Promoting Community Wellbeing Through Indigenous Science and Healing. This program, rooted in Indigenous methodologies, focuses on integrating tribal knowledge with modern health strategies to address substance use and chronic pain. The project is led by Native American researchers Abigail Echo-Hawk from the Seattle Indian Health Board, Kamilla Venner from the University of New Mexico, and Stacy Rasmus from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. By centering Indigenous voices, these projects underscore the project team’s commitment to advancing health equity and empowering Native communities through respectful, community-led health solutions. Read more in the WSU Insider.
