Assessing Cultures of Recovery in Tribal Communities - Research Core

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: RESEARCH CORE (PROJECT 001) The prevalence and incidence of mental health challenges, including addictive behaviors, continues to be high among Tribal populations. Despite this substantial need, Tribal communities often lack necessary resources for addiction treatment and prevention. To help fill these key gaps in addiction resources and training, this Research Core will evaluate a culturally grounded training curriculum, xaʔtus (meaning First Face) - for Mental Health. This curriculum will train Tribal and non-Tribal community members within Tribal communities in how to respond to youth and adults experiencing mental health crises and serve as a bridge between these individuals and the help (in some cases professional) they need. The proposed evaluation of the program will use a Tribal Participatory Research (TPR) approach, working with representatives from seven Tribes to ensure that the needs and goals of the Tribal partners are emphasized in the research design and resulting products. To evaluate xaʔtus, the Research Core will use a randomized waitlist control design, implemented in seven Tribes, that includes five assessment time points for both initial trainees (n=350) and waitlist controls (n=350). Both Tribal and non-Tribal community members will be invited to participate. These assessments will measure knowledge about mental health and addiction, as well as the ability and confidence of individuals to respond appropriately to mental health crises. We will also evaluate the potential for community-level effects of xaʔtus with a three-wave repeated cross-sectional community survey (n=400), which will examine community-level mental health stigma, mental health and social isolation, perceived support, help-seeking activities, and treatment access and utilization. We will supplement these surveys with aggregated records from behavioral health centers in these communities (e.g., number of treatment referrals in the past year). This Research Core will provide knowledge about the extent to which this culturally appropriate training program influences mental health, community perceptions about mental health, and community mental health resource availability, both at the individual and community levels. We will share our findings with Tribal councils and community members to ensure that the potential benefits of training are widely disseminated among AI/AN individuals in these communities, as well as disseminating our findings through more traditional academic means with permission from the involved federally-recognized Tribes.