Billings Clinic, Montana State University research indigenous cancer challenges
Author: Joseph Salyer, Billings Clinic
Billings Clinic, Montana State University Research Project Aims to Address Indigenous Cancer Care Challenges
Joseph Salyer
Billings Clinic
Billings, MT— Montana’s largest university and largest health care system are partnering for a research project focused on identifying and addressing cancer care barriers and challenges for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities.
The two-year grant-funded project, called CONSTELLATION, is a partnership between Billings Clinic and Montana State University. It aims to confront disparities in cancer care for AIAN patients and communities by building a networked, community-driven model of equitable cancer care across Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.
Unique barriers such as geographic challenges, limited services and mistrust of health care systems in AIAN communities can create delayed cancer diagnosis and difficulties accessing care. This results in the lowest five-year cancer survival rates in the United States, with mortality reaching 164.7 deaths per 100,000 in rural and frontier regions.
The initiative emphasizes close collaboration with indigenous leadership, culturally grounded communication, and digital innovation to transform cancer care access in frontier areas.
“Everyone deserves access to high-quality cancer care, no matter where they live,” said Hansjorg Schwertz, PhD, MD, Billings Clinic Medical Director of Research and the project’s co-primary investigator. “We know that there are specific challenges and needs in Indigenous communities, and our goal is to work with these communities to develop cancer care programs that work for the people who live there."
To do this, CONSTELLATION will:
Identify and co-define barriers to cancer treatment and research participation through AIAN-led listening sessions, mapping, and community advisory councils.
Co-design and pilot culturally appropriate interventions, such as population-specific patient navigation tools and provider education focused on cultural humility, trust, and shared decision-making.
Develop and share a replicable model for tribal-serving and rural health systems, supported by an open-access digital toolkit and policy brief.
“By strengthening partnerships between communities, academics and health care, we want to expand quality, culturally safe cancer care and research access for American Indian and Alaska Native communities,” said Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, RN, Co-Director of MSU’s Biomedical Innovation for Research and Development (BioReD) Hub and project co-primary investigator. “We want this to be something that can be used across the U.S. to develop a national model for addressing cancer disparities in underserved and sovereign populations.”
“I am excited about this project because it emphasizes partnership between community members, academic collaborators and healthcare partners,” said Billings Clinic Research Scientist Morgan Chamberlin, PhD, RD. “This collaboration is essential to the work; meaningful progress in accessible and culturally safe cancer care for AIAN communities can’t happen in isolation — it requires shared insight, trust, and effort across all sectors.”
Schwertz, Johnson and Chamberlin will co-lead CONSTELLATION, which is funded by a grant from the American Cancer Society and Pfizer.
For questions or additional information, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Johnson (elizabeth.johnson37@montana.edu, 406-994-2499) or Joe Salyer (jsalyer@billingsclinic.org, 406-657-4677).
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