Resources

Past Presentation

Metabolic Health in Indian Country: Food as Medicine, GLP-1 Therapies, Clinical Outcomes, and Access | October 27, 2026

Date of Presentation: October 27, 2026

Type: Past Presentation  

Audience: Clinical  

Program: General Session  

Keywords: #GIP  #GLP-1  #incretin  #medication access  #metabolic  #substance use disorders  

In this presentation, Dr. Danica Love Brown, Dr. Nicholas Duca, and Dr. Hannah Wenger and compare obesity and metabolic-disease burdens among American Indian and Alaska Native populations and the broader US, recognizing variation across communities and regions. Then, faculty review GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 pharmacology, established benefits, safety considerations, and common misconceptions, explain how food as medicine, locally relevant traditional foods, and food sovereignty can complement pharmacologic and other metabolic care and identify emerging applications of GLP-1 and dual GIP/GLP-1 medications involving substance use disorders, liver disease, inflammation, pain, function, and quality of life. Finally, they describe practical differences in medication access and continuity across commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, IHS, and Tribal health programs.

Presented by:

Nicholas S. Duca
MD

Nicholas S. Duca, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Penn State College of Medicine and a general internist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine, with clinical and academic interests spanning obesity and metabolic health, primary care, gender-affirming care, and medical education.

Hannah C. Wenger
MD

Hannah C. Wenger, MD (she) is an Associate Physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also a partner at The Raven Collective, an Indigenous- and female-owned tribal health consulting firm in the United States. Hannah is a national expert in Indigenous health and medical care for transgender individuals.

Dr. Danica Love Brown
Dr. Danica Love Brown
Faculty

Danica Love Brown, MSW, CACIII, PhD, is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma born and raised in Northern New Mexico. Danica is the president of White Crane Consulting, LLC and has worked as a mental health and substance use counselor, social worker, and youth advocate for 30 years. She is an Indigenous Wellness Research Institute ISMART fellow alumni, Council of Social Work Education, Minority Fellowship Program fellow alumni, and Northwest Native American Research Center for Health fellow alumni. Her research has focused on Indigenous Ways of Knowing and decolonizing methodologies to address historical trauma and health disparities in Tribal communities.

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Resources Provided:

Date added: August 30, 2026