A CBPR Approach to Finding Community Strengths and Challenges to Prevent Youth Suicide and Substance Abuse

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie E. Holliday ◽  
Melodi Wynne ◽  
Janet Katz ◽  
Chanel Ford ◽  
Celestina Barbosa-Leiker
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Alaska Native ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Tribal Community ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Native Communities

Purpose: To improve health and reduce health disparities, research partnerships with American Indian and Alaska Native communities should build on existing traditions and strengths. The overall goal of this pilot project was to clarify the needs of tribal community members and determine strengths and resources available to the community. Design: Community-based participatory research was the approach used to obtain community input. Data collection methods included, Photovoice ( n = 16), digital storytelling ( n = 4), and community capacity surveys ( n = 128). Results: Quantitative and qualitative findings supported the need to (1) address youth suicide and substance abuse on the reservation and (2) use preexisting resources available in the community. The results led to the development of a strengths-based intervention incorporating the Gathering of Native American’s curriculum. Conclusion: Integral to the development, implementation, and sustainability of the intervention was the truly reciprocal relationship developed between community and university partners.

Beliefs about causal factors for suicide in rural Alaska Native communities and recommendations for prevention

2020 ◽  
pp. 136346152096386
Author(s):  
Monica C. Skewes ◽  
Julie A. Gameon ◽  
Fiona Grubin ◽  
Christopher R. DeCou ◽  
Lindsey Whitcomb
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Alaska Native ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Rural Villages ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
Rural Alaska

Rural Indigenous communities in Alaska suffer staggeringly high rates of suicide. In close-knit Alaska Native villages, each suicide leaves a trail of affected family and community members in its wake. This research aimed to understand community perceptions of what causes suicide in rural Alaska Native villages and generate recommendations for prevention strategies. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 Alaska Native university students who moved from rural villages to an urban area to attend college. All had been profoundly affected by others’ suicides and shared their beliefs about causal factors and recommendations for prevention efforts. Perceived causes included resistance to seeking help or discussing personal problems, loss of culture, traumatic experiences, geographical and social isolation, lack of opportunity, substance abuse, and exposure to others’ suicides. Participants believed that suicide is preventable and recommended multi-level approaches to address suicide disparities. They provided recommendations for potentially effective and culturally appropriate prevention strategies, including increasing cultural and social connections, educating community members about mental health, and increasing accessibility of counseling services/reducing barriers to mental health services utilization.

A Socioecological Approach to Improving Mammography Rates in a Tribal Community

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin C. English ◽  
Jo Fairbanks ◽  
Carolyn E. Finster ◽  
Alvin Rafelito ◽  
Jolene Luna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Tribal Community ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Intermediate Outcomes ◽  
Tribal Health

This article highlights the processes and intermediate outcomes of a pilot project to increase mammography rates of women in an American Indian tribe in New Mexico. Using a socioecological framework and principles of community-based participatory research, a community coalition was able to (a) bolster local infrastructure to increase access to mammography services; (b) build public health knowledge and skills among tribal health providers; (c) identify community-specific knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs related to breast cancer; (d) establish interdependent partnerships among community health programs and between the tribe and outside organizations; and (e) adopt local policy initiatives to bolster tribal cancer control. These findings demonstrate the value of targeting a combination of individual, community, and environmental factors, which affect community breast cancer screening rates and incorporating cultural strengths and resources into all facets of a tribal health promotion intervention.

scholarly journals Found in translation: Decoding local understandings of genetics and heredity in a Yup’ik Eskimo community

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. West ◽  
Scarlett E. Hopkins ◽  
Kim J. Hopper ◽  
Gerald V. Mohatt ◽  
Bert B. Boyer
Keyword(s):  
Participatory Research ◽  
Alaska Native ◽  
First Language ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Relevant Term ◽  
Health Concepts ◽  
Scientific Terms

The Center for Alaska Native Health Research is a community-based participatory research center that conducts studies involving genetic research with Yup’ik Eskimo community members in Southwest Alaska, where Yup’ik remains the first language for most residents. Cultural equivalents are needed to communicate results of these studies among all partners and members of the participating communities, since many scientific terms have no direct translation in Yup’ik. To inform that effort, we examined local understandings of genetics and heredity in one community. Here, we report results from back-translated Yup’ik interviews, and identify working genetic concepts shared by participants from interviews and focus groups. We suggest issues involved in, and some potential steps toward, developing a concise, scientifically accurate and culturally relevant term for “genetics” and other health concepts.

scholarly journals Healthy Native Community Fellowship: An Indigenous Leadership Program to Enhance Community Wellness

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Rae ◽  
Marita Jones ◽  
Alexis J Handal ◽  
Marge Bluehorse-Anderson ◽  
Shelley Frazier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alaska Native ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Native Community ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Leadership Program ◽  
Indigenous Leadership ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
Cultural Connectedness ◽  
Improve Health Status ◽  
Improve Health

The Healthy Native Communities Fellowship (HNCF) is a grassroots evidence-based mentorship and leadership program that develops the skills and community-building capacities of leaders and community teams to improve health status through several intermediate social and cultural mechanisms: (a) strengthening social participation (also known as social capital or cohesion); (b) strengthening cultural connectedness and revitalization of cultural identity; and (c) advocating for health-enhancing policies, practices, and programs that strengthen systems of prevention and care, as well as address the structural social determinants of health. This leadership program uses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and participatory evaluation to investigate how the work of local American Indian and Alaska Native leaders (fellows) and their community coalitions contributes to individual, family, and community level health outcomes.

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