The Development of a Measure of Alaska Native Community Resilience Factors through Knowledge Co-production

Wexler, Lisa; Rasmus, Stacy M.; Ullrich, Jessica; Flaherty, Aneliese Apala; Apok, Charlene; Black, Jessica; McEachern, Diane; Murphrey, Carol; Johnson, Rhonda; Allen, James

doi:10.1353/cpr.2020.0050

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In response to expressed community priorities, there is added need for development and testing of augmentations to the Qungasvik intervention at the community level. Possibilities suggested by community members include enhancement of Tribal government functioning, training for service providers in Indigenous cultural knowledge, opportunities for access among young people to ceremony and other spiritual resources, land and place‐based practices such as subsistence activities, and Indigenous language usage (Wexler et al, 2020). This encourages innovation outside the range of activities typically associated with suicide and alcohol prevention, extending its possibilities to include tribal government leadership academies, more intensive collaborations with AN spiritual leaders, and a youth services infrastructure that includes access to land‐based activities and Indigenous language in daily use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culturally grounded strategies for suicide and alcohol risk prevention delivered by rural Alaska Native communities: A dynamic wait‐listed design evaluation of the Qungasvik intervention

Allen

Charles

Fok

et al. 2022

American J of Comm Psychol

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We examined the effectiveness of the Qungasvik (Tools for Life) intervention in enhancing protective factors as a universal suicide and alcohol prevention strategy for young people ages 12−18 living in highly affected rural Alaska Native communities. Four communities were assigned to immediate intervention or to a dynamic wait list. Outcomes were analyzed for 239 young people at four time points over two years of community intervention. Outcomes assessed two ultimate variable protective factors buffering suicide and alcohol risk, and three intermediate variable protective factors at the individual, family, and community level. Dose dependent intervention effects were associated with growth in ultimate but not intermediate variables. This evaluation of the Qungasvik intervention provides support for the effectiveness of its Indigenous strategies for suicide and alcohol misuse prevention in this rural Alaska Native setting. Though findings did not provide support for a theory of change where growth in ultimate variables is occasioned through effects on intermediate variables, research designs focused on young people who enter intervention at lower levels of preexisting protection hold promise for better understanding of intervention change processes. The Qungasvik intervention is responsive to an acute public health need for effective rural Alaska Native suicide and alcohol risk prevention strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culturally grounded strategies for suicide and alcohol risk prevention delivered by rural Alaska Native communities: A dynamic wait‐listed design evaluation of the Qungasvik intervention

Allen

Charles

Fok

et al. 2022

American J of Comm Psychol

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“…In the North American Arctic context, there are an abundance of publications and government documents that describe morbidity and mortality among Indigenous communities, looking only at the tip of the iceberg [42–51]. However, there are a growing number of Alaska and Canada-based researchers, many of whom are Indigenous, who have focused on strengths-based, community-centered work to explore and address local priorities [52–59]. Despite this promise, there are still far fewer publications that have examined the strengths, protective factors, and/or community-based practices that enhance mental health and well-being in northern communities [60–63].…”

Section: Background: Circumpolar Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there are a growing number of Alaska and Canada-based researchers, many of whom are Indigenous, who have focused on strengths-based, community-centered work to explore and address local priorities [52–59]. Despite this promise, there are still far fewer publications that have examined the strengths, protective factors, and/or community-based practices that enhance mental health and well-being in northern communities [60–63]. This oversight has been noticed by communities, who have made repeated efforts to shift narratives from deficit-based depictions toward narratives of resilient and thriving communities [20, 64–66].…”

Section: Background: Circumpolar Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Diving below the surface: A framework for arctic health research to support thriving communities

Cueva

Rink

Lavoie

et al. 2021

Scand J Public Health

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Aims: Historically, health research in the Arctic has focused on documenting ill-health using a narrow set of deficit-oriented epidemiologic indicators (i.e., prevalence of disease and mortality rates). While useful, this type of research does not adequately capture the breadth and complexities of community health and well-being, and fails to highlight solutions. A community’s context, strengths, and continued expressions of well-being need to guide inquiries, inform processes, and contextualize recommendations. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework developed to address the aforementioned concerns and inform community-led health and social research in the Arctic. Methods: The proposed framework is informed by our collective collaborations with circumpolar communities, and syntheses of individual and group research undertaken throughout the Circumpolar North. Our framework encourages investigation into the contextual factors that promote circumpolar communities to thrive. Results: Our framework centers on the visual imagery of an iceberg. There is a need to dive deeper than superficial indicators of health to examine individual, family, social, cultural, historical, linguistic, and environmental contexts that support communities in the Circumpolar North to thrive. A participatory community-based approach in conjunction with ongoing epidemiologic research is necessary in order to effectively support health and wellness. Conclusions: The iceberg framework is a way to conceptualize circumpolar health research and encourage investigators to both monitor epidemiologic indicators and also dive below the surface using participatory methodology to investigate contextual factors that support thriving communities.

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“…The benefits of these teachings provided through the process of THP's contributes to the long-term well-being of the individual and the community, even after wild foods have been distributed and consumed. Additionally, youth who engage in THP-related activities have higher levels of protection from substance abuse and suicide risk than peers who engage in fewer activities (Philip et al, 2016;Rasmus et al, 2014bRasmus et al, , 2019Wexler et al, 2020). Reciprocal relationships between humans and the nonhuman world, including taking care of the land, coasts, waterways, treating animals with respect, and encouraging others to do the same, are all ways that the Indigenous people of Alaska collectively care for themselves and their communities (Fienup-Riordan, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Sharing and Participation are Important Predictors of the Health of Traditional Harvest Practices in Indigenous Communities in Alaska

et al. 2022

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The well-being of Indigenous communities in Alaska is inextricably linked to traditional harvest practices (THPs) such as hunting, fishing, and gathering local wild foods. Regional trends in the health of THPs have not been quantitatively evaluated in Alaska. Therefore, we surveyed Indigenous residents in the Western Coastal (n = 623) and Interior (n = 437) Regions of Alaska to estimate perceptions of the extent and cause of change in the health of THPs over the last ten years. We found that THPs improved in Western Coastal and declined in Interior Alaska. The best predictors of improvement or decline in the health of THPs were 1) change in the ability to share the harvest, 2) change in participation in hunting and fishing activities, and 3) extent of challenges caused by climate change. The odds of a decline in the health of THPs were 8 to 13 times higher for households that reported a decrease in sharing of traditional foods.

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The Development of a Measure of Alaska Native Community Resilience Factors through Knowledge Co-production

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Culturally grounded strategies for suicide and alcohol risk prevention delivered by rural Alaska Native communities: A dynamic wait‐listed design evaluation of the Qungasvik intervention

Culturally grounded strategies for suicide and alcohol risk prevention delivered by rural Alaska Native communities: A dynamic wait‐listed design evaluation of the Qungasvik intervention

Diving below the surface: A framework for arctic health research to support thriving communities

Changes in Sharing and Participation are Important Predictors of the Health of Traditional Harvest Practices in Indigenous Communities in Alaska

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