A promising recovery housing model for American Indian communities

Abstract

In 2016, two Oxford House (OH) recovery homes were established for the Suquamish Tribal reservation. A group of researchers interviewed house members and key individuals responsible for the creation of these two unique OHs. Because American Indians are an at-risk population for substance use disorders, our study explored whether an OH-type recovery home model could be successfully adapted to this population, given the specific nature of tribal cultures. Findings indicated that the residents, composed of both American Indians and non-American Indians, found these OHs to be supportive of recovery in general and with the values of American Indians. The tribal community’s positive attitudes toward these recovery homes may have been due to similarities between the Suquamish Tribal Government and OH’s democratic structures, with all individuals having a voice in the decision making process. The overall findings suggest that these types of culturally modified recovery settings on American Indian tribal lands could be an important resource for individuals dealing with substance use disorders.

Coming together for something good: recommendations from a scoping review for dissemination and implementation science to improve indigenous substance use disorder treatment

“…Sixty percent of the studies reported Reach [ n = 12; ( 33 , 35–38 , 40 , 42 , 45–48 , 50 )] with information mainly focused on inclusion and exclusion criteria for participants along with recruitment strategies ( 33 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 50 ). For example, Campbell and colleagues ( 35 ) noted that they recruited 58.8% ( N = 40) out of the 68 clients that were eligible to participate in their study.…”

“…Making cultural adaptations to evidence-based substance use disorder treatment was described as a more holistic approach that sits within the cultural framework of the partnering community. This can take the form of integrating appropriate representation (e.g., art, study staff from the community) knowledge, and Indigenous worldviews into the evidence-based treatment which may also increase engagement and adoption ( 33 , 42 , 43 , 50 ) ( Table 1 ). Seventy-five percent of the studies ( n = 15) mentioned culturally adapting the intervention, but only 15.0% ( n = 3) described a specific framework guiding the adaptations made.…”

Developing an Indigenous systems alignment framework: A call for direct funding

“…9,10 The effectiveness of the approaches taken by Native nations and Indigenous community health (ICH) organizations is attributed to customary relationships between tribal leaders and citizens and engagement as rightsholders in partnerships with non-tribal and governmental entities. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] With direct funding, Native nations and ICH organizations can continue to build upon this evidence, tackle structural barriers, and further their engagement in systems and implementation science research. This commentary shares evidence that demonstrates how direct funding can enhance Native nations and Indigenous community (NNIC) driven research using Indigenous systems alignment frameworks and improve long-term collaboration with internal and external, cross-sector partners (e.g., tribal government divisions, nonprofit community health clinics, etc.…”

“…The effectiveness of the approaches taken by Native nations and Indigenous community health (ICH) organizations is attributed to customary relationships between tribal leaders and citizens and engagement as rightsholders in partnerships with non‐tribal and governmental entities 1–10 . With direct funding, Native nations and ICH organizations can continue to build upon this evidence, tackle structural barriers, and further their engagement in systems and implementation science research.…”

“…Native nations and Indigenous health organizations have a long history of aligning health care, behavioral health, public health, and social service systems, though peer‐reviewed literature examining tribal systems alignment is limited. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 Treaty rights, trust responsibilities, and legislative actions guarantee the exchange of Indigenous peoples' land and natural resources for health care, education, and other critical programs from the U.S. federal government. However, limited funding for systems strengthening has resulted in significant unmet needs within Native nations and Indigenous communities.…”