The Unseen Picture: Issues with Health Care, Discrimination, Police and Safety, and Housing Experienced by Native American Populations in Rural America

PURPOSE: Despite increased national attention to improving rural health, rural Native American populations face unique problems that are often unseen in aggregate research on the rural United States. The objective of this study was to examine rural Native Americans’ experiences with serious problems across domains important to health, using rural Whites as a comparison group. METHODS: Using 2 probability‐based national telephone surveys (2017 and 2019), we examined rural Native American adults’ reported problems in health care, discrimination, police and safety, and housing. We then compared Native American‐White differences in reported problems across domains. FINDINGS: Among rural Native American adults, 33% reported recent problems accessing health care when they needed it, 28% reported they or family members recently experienced major problems paying for medical bills, and 28% reported recent problems with health care quality. Several Native American‐White differences were reported, including experiencing racial violence (34% vs 5%, P < .001), discrimination in health care (19% vs 3%, P = .003), unfair police treatment (27% vs 5%, P = .002), and major housing problems (48% vs 26%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Rural Native American adults report ongoing and widespread problems with health care, discrimination, the police, safety, and housing. These findings support many national policy recommendations to improve federal funding and oversight for programs serving Native American populations living in rural areas.