Risk and Resilience Among Families in Urban AI/AN Communities: the Role of Young Adults

Palimaru, Alina I.; Brown, Ryan Andrew; Arvizu-Sanchez, Virginia; Mike, Lynette; Etz, Kathleen E.; Johnson, Carrie L.; Dickerson, Daniel; D’Amico, Elizabeth J.

doi:10.1007/s40615-022-01240-7

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Despite facing escalating challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, AIAN communities continue to flourish and innovate to meet community needs. Strong kinship networks and communitydriven values foster mutual support and care when navigating challenges and this was especially present during the pandemic (15). Prompted by increased media attention on AIAN communities during the pandemic, many Native-led organizations continue to advocate for structural and policy reforms and to raise public awareness of ongoing health inequities AIANs face (16).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honoring our teachings: children’s storybooks as indigenous public health practice

Maudrie,

Grubin,

Conrad

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionAmerican Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities continue to flourish and innovate in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Storytelling is an important tradition for AIAN communities that can function as an intervention modality. To support the needs of AIAN children and caregivers, we (a collaborative workgroup of Indigenous health researchers) developed a culturally grounded storybook that provides pandemic-related public health guidance and mental health coping strategies woven with Inter-Tribal values and teachings.MethodsA collaborative workgroup, representing diverse tribal affiliations, met via four virtual meetings in early 2021 to discuss evolving COVID-19 pandemic public health guidance, community experiences and responses to emerging challenges, and how to ground the story in shared AIAN cultural strengths. We developed and distributed a brief survey for caregivers to evaluate the resulting book.ResultsThe workgroup iteratively reviewed versions of the storyline until reaching a consensus on the final text. An AI artist from the workgroup created illustrations to accompany the text. The resulting book, titled Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine: Honoring Our Teachings during COVID-19 contains 46 pages of text and full-color illustrations. An online toolkit including coloring pages, traditional language activities, and caregiver resources accompanies the book. We printed and distributed 50,024 physical copies of the book and a free online version remains available. An online survey completed by N = 34 caregivers who read the book with their child(ren) showed strong satisfaction with the book and interest in future books.DiscussionThe development of this storybook provides insights for creative dissemination of future public health initiatives, especially those geared toward AIAN communities. The positive reception and widespread interest in the storybook illustrate how braiding AIAN cultural teachings with public health guidance can be an effective way to disseminate health information. This storybook highlights the importance of storytelling as an immersive learning experience through which caregivers and children connect to family, community, culture, and public health guidance. Culturally grounded public health interventions can be effective and powerful in uplifting AIAN cultural values and promoting health and well-being for present and future generations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honoring our teachings: children’s storybooks as indigenous public health practice

Maudrie,

Grubin,

Conrad

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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“…Urban AI/AN emerging adults have been historically underrepresented in research (Crump et al, 2020), and studies are needed to understand factors that may contribute to both health disparities and resilience within this population. Our work has shown, for example, that many urban AI/AN emerging adults who want to cut back or quit their use of substances experience difficulty because their social context may encourage AOD use through peer or family use (Brown et al, 2022), yet many also indicate that sharing AI/AN traditional teachings and stories (Dickerson et al, 2018) within their families and their community is protective against heavy AOD use (D'Amico, Dickerson, et al, 2020;Palimaru et al, 2022). Furthermore, although some AI/AN emerging adults may use alcohol or cannabis without harmful consequences, due to the significant impact of substance use on this population historically (Beauvais, 1998;White Bison, 2007), there is a need to develop alcohol and other drug use prevention programs for this population (Dickerson et al, 2018;Wendt et al, 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

Risk and protective factors of social networks on alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use among urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults.

D’Amico¹,

Kennedy²,

Malika³

et al. 2023

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

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Objectives: Assess associations between social networks and urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults' alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use and intentions. Method: American Indian/Alaska Native participants ages 18-25 (N = 150; 86% female) were recruited across the United States from 12/20 to 10/21 via social media. Participants named up to 15 people whom they talked with most over the past 3 months and reported who (a) used alcohol and cannabis heavily or used other drugs (e.g., opioid use), (b) engaged in traditional practices, and (c) provided support. They also reported past 3-month alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use and intentions to use. Results: Having a higher proportion of network members engaging in regular cannabis and heavy alcohol use (but not other drugs) was associated with more frequent cannabis use and stronger cannabis use intentions. Participants with higher proportions of members engaging in heavy alcohol use, regular cannabis use, or other drug use and who did not engage in traditional practices were more likely to report cannabis use and greater intentions to use cannabis and drink alcohol. In contrast, participants with higher proportions of network members engaging in traditional practices and who did not report heavy alcohol use, regular cannabis use, or other drug use were less likely to report intentions to use cannabis or drink alcohol. Conclusions: Findings emphasize what many studies have shown among various racial/ethnic groups-having network members who use substances increases the chance of use. Findings also highlight that traditional practices may be an important part of the prevention approach for this population. Public Health Significance StatementThere are no prior studies that have examined the role of social networks on health behaviors (including substance use) among urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults in the United States. Participants with a higher proportion of network members engaging in traditional practices but not heavy substance use were less likely to report intentions to use cannabis or drink alcohol. This study highlights that traditional practices (e.g., beading, storytelling, dancing) may be an important part of the prevention approach for this population.

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Mixed Methods Evaluation of Satisfaction with Two Culturally Tailored Substance use Prevention Programs for American Indian/Alaska Native Emerging Adults

Palimaru,

Brown,

Dickerson

et al. 2023

Prev Sci

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American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities are disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic. AI/AN emerging adults (ages 18–25) in urban areas are at particularly high risk, with the overdose death rate among urban-dwelling AI/AN people 1.4 times higher than rural-dwelling AI/AN people. Despite these challenges, there are no evidence-based culturally tailored prevention or intervention programs to address opioid, alcohol and other drug use among urban AI/AN emerging adults. This study focused on understanding AI/AN emerging adults’ experiences with two culturally tailored programs addressing opioid, cannabis, and alcohol use as part of the randomized controlled trial for Traditions and Connections for Urban Native Americans (TACUNA) in order to enhance feasibility of this intervention. Using a convergent mixed methods design at 3-month follow-up, we collected satisfaction and experience ratings and written narratives (total n = 162; intervention n = 77; control n = 85) from a sample of urban-dwelling AI/AN emerging adults who participated in both programs. We analyzed data through simultaneous examination of qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative ratings show that both programs were rated highly. The qualitative data contextualized these ratings, illustrating pathways through which specific components were perceived to cause desired or observed behavioral change in participants. Among the elements that mattered most to these participants were the convenience of the virtual format, having a comfortable and safe space to share personal stories, and learning new information about their social networks. Negative comments focused on workshop length and inconvenient scheduling. This is one of the first studies to explore participant satisfaction and experience with culturally tailored substance use programming among a historically marginalized and understudied population. It is important to consider the voices of urban-dwelling AI/AN people in program development because hidden factors, such as limited financial resources, limited time, and misalignment with cultural values may prevent existing programs from being feasible.

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Risk and Resilience Among Families in Urban AI/AN Communities: the Role of Young Adults

Cited by 5 publications

References 44 publications

Honoring our teachings: children’s storybooks as indigenous public health practice

Honoring our teachings: children’s storybooks as indigenous public health practice

Risk and protective factors of social networks on alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use among urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults.

Mixed Methods Evaluation of Satisfaction with Two Culturally Tailored Substance use Prevention Programs for American Indian/Alaska Native Emerging Adults

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