Development and Feasibility Pilot Study of Indigenous Recovery Planning: A Community-Engaged Approach to Addressing Substance Use in a Native Community.

Journal: Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
Published Date:

Abstract

Although Native (American Indian and Alaska Native [AI/AN]) populations have high rates of abstinence from alcohol, health problems associated with substance use remain a pressing concern in many AI/AN communities. As part of a longstanding community-based participatory research (CBPR) project involving five years of relationship building and three preliminary studies, our team of academic and community co-researchers developed a culturally grounded intervention to facilitate recovery from substance use disorders among tribal members from a rural AI reservation. Our (IRP) intervention consists of six weekly sessions and aims to provide inroads to existing resources in the community, affirm and enhance Native identity, address culturally relevant risk factors, and build upon strengths. Results from a feasibility pilot study ( = 15) suggest that IRP is feasible to implement and acceptable to the community. Although there was insufficient statistical power to conduct hypothesis testing, there were changes between pretest and posttest scores in the expected directions. Future directions and limitations of this research are discussed.

Authors

  • Monica C Skewes
    Montana State University, Bozeman, USA.
  • Vivian M Gonzalez
    Department of Psychology, University of Alaska Anchorage.
  • Julie A Gameon
    University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA.
  • Adriann Ricker
    Fort Peck Community College.
  • Shannon Martell
    Fort Peck Community College.
  • Martel Reum
    Fort Peck Community College.
  • Shannon Holder
    Department of Psychology, Montana State University.

Keywords

No keywords available for this article.