AIHREA Welcomes American Indian Smokers Who Wish to Quit

American Indians have the highest smoking rates in the U.S. and have some of the poorest health outcomes because of it. Smokers are also at higher risk for severe illness due to a COVID-19 infection. Targeted smoking cessation strategies and interventions are needed but very few have been developed and made available to American Indians.
 
American Indian Health Research & Education Alliance (AIHREA) researchers from the College of Health and the Institute for Indigenous Studies at Lehigh University welcome American Indians 18 and over who seek to quit or have an interest in quitting smoking to join our Telephone Based All Nations Breath of Life (tANBL) program and study. As a tANBL participant, you will be randomly selected into either a current best practice or the culturally tailored ANBL program. Both interventions are 12-week programs with a follow up at 6 and 12 months and provide the latest science and strategies for quitting smoking. tANBL is free to join for eligible participants and includes individual telephone counseling, an educational curriculum, motivational/educational text messaging, and incentives!
 
To enroll or if you have questions, please contact program manager Luke Swimmer at [email protected].

We Celebrate our Graduates 

Luke Swimmer, MBA, MA, is from Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, NC. He grew up in the Ravens Rock community and now calls the Snowbird community home with his wife and three kids. Luke graduated with a Masters of Arts in Indigenous studies from The University of Kansas.  His thesis focused on using artificial intelligence to help revitalize Indigenous Languages.  He is currently a Research Scientist for Lehigh's College of Health at the Institute for Indigenous Studies where he is the project manager for the Telephone All Nations Breath of Life study (tANBL).

​Nikayla (Nikki) Begaye, M. Ed, grew up on the Navajo reservation in Chinle, Arizona. Begaye graduated from Lehigh University with a master’s degree in elementary education. She also received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in Chinese as a member of the Class of 2020. She was excited to have her mother, uncles and young brother come to campus to help her celebrate, making it her family’s first time at Lehigh. Lehigh’s in-person commencement ceremonies was May 21-24 for the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020.