Alaska Native genomic research: perspectives from Alaska Native leaders, federal staff, and biomedical researchers.

Meaningful engagement of Alaska Native (AN) tribes and tribal health organizations is essential in the conduct of socially responsible and ethical research. As genomics becomes increasingly important to advancements in medicine, there is a risk that populations not meaningfully included in genomic research will not benefit from the outcomes of that research. AN people have historically been underrepresented in biomedical research; AN underrepresentation in genomics research is compounded by mistrust based on past abuses, concerns about privacy and data ownership, and cultural considerations specific to this type of research. Working together, the National Human Genome Research Institute and two Alaska Native health organizations, Southcentral Foundation and the Alaska Native Health Board, cosponsored a workshop in July 2018 to engage key stakeholders in discussion, strengthen relationships, and facilitate partnership and consideration of participation of AN people in community-driven biomedical and genomic research. AN priorities related to translation of genomics research to health and health care, return of genomic results, design of research studies, and data sharing were discussed. This report summarizes the perspectives that emerged from the dialogue and offers considerations for effective and socially responsible genomic research partnerships with AN communities.

Depression among women on welfare: a review of the literature.

In the "work-first" welfare policy environment embodied in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, situational and personal barriers to employment have received increasing scrutiny from researchers, policy makers, and program administrators. Depression has generated a great deal of concern as a potential barrier to job attainment and retention among welfare recipients. This paper reviews the literature on the prevalence of depression in recent studies of welfare recipients. Starting in the late 1980s, many researchers incorporated reliable and comparable measures of major depression and depressive symptoms into their studies of welfare recipients. These investigations show that rates of depression are high, as is the presence of symptoms. The relevance of this problem for welfare administrators and other professionals is discussed.