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Where can I find
health education resources that are appropriate for Native American cultures?
From CSAP's Northeast Database of Effective
Programs:
Over the years, the effect of substance abuse on Native American/Alaska
Native mental and physical health has been devastating. For the age group
25 to 34, Native American males die almost three times more frequently
than their non- Indian counterparts from motor vehicle crashes; they are
twice as likely to commit suicide; they are seven times more likely to
suffer from alcohol-related problems, such as cirrhosis of the liver.
Alaska Native males ages 15 to 24 have a suicide rate 14 times the national
average. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) occurs among Alaska Native newborns
at twice the national average, and 73 percent of the women who give birth
to these FAS children report being sexually abused as a child. Still,
Native American resilience has been as legendary as its near genocidal
history. With a heightened awareness of cultural traditions, prevention
specialists have learned some lessons: use Native Americans as staff in
mental health/substance abuse clinics whenever possible; incorporate cultural
concepts-and bicultural realities-within programs; target prevention at
early ages. Novel efforts are emerging, such as the Lakota Seventh Generation
program. Last month, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced $1.75 million
in new SAMHSA grants to integrate substance abuse treatment with mental
health in seven Native American and Alaska Native communities.
Sources: SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse, Detailed Tables, 2000; Health Promotion and Substance Abuse Prevention
Among American Indian and Alaska Native Communities: Issues in Cultural
Competence, SAMHSA, 2001.
Excerpted from NCADI's Prevention Update, Volume
5, Number 16 November 22, 2002.
The following is a selected list of resources that may be helpful for
prevention practitioners working in Native American communities. This
is not meant to be an exhaustive list. If you would like to recommend
an addition to or modification of this list, please e-mail: sfuxman@edc.org.
Also, some of these resources will lead you to other sources of interest.
Online Resources
Healthfinder
Healthfinder.gov is a Federal
Web site, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
together with other Federal agencies. Since 1997, Healthfinder® has been
recognized as a key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit
health and human services information on the Internet. Healthfinder® links
to carefully selected information and Web sites from over 1,800 health-related
organizations. Healthfinder Resources for Native Americans/Alaska Natives
http://ncadistore.samhsa.gov/catalog/facts.aspx?topic=33
SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA's NCADI provides
an extensive list of resources and publications on a wide variety of substance
abuse issues.
A list of links for online resources:
Hanksville - Index of Native American
Resources on the Net
A personal site with a variety of Internet links and information related
to Native American culture and history http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/
Learn more about your local Tribes and Villages - http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/
The Healthy Nations Initiative
The Healthy Nations Initiative is funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
to help Native Americans reduce the harm caused by substance abuse in
their communities. The goal of the initiative is to demonstrate that tribes
and communities can, over time, achieve substantial reductions in the
demand for - and consequently the use of - alcohol and other harmful substances,
including tobacco and illegal drugs. The initiative provides funding to
14 tribes and organizations to support the development of community-wide
efforts to combat substance abuse that integrate public awareness campaigns,
prevention programs, and services for treatment, aftercare, and support.
Particular emphasis is on prevention and early intervention with respect
to the use of alcohol, illegal drugs and tobacco among youth. Incorporation
of traditional cultural values is a key component of the Healthy Nations
Initiative. http://www.uchsc.edu/ai/hni/
Medline Plus - Native American Health
A service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes
of Health, this site is dedicated to providing good health information
from the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine.
Health professionals and consumers alike can depend on it for information
that is authoritative and up to date. MEDLINEplus has extensive information
from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over
600 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians,
a medical encyclopedia and a medical dictionary, health information in
Spanish, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs,
health information from the media, and links to thousands of clinical
trials. MEDLINEplus is updated daily and can be bookmarked at the URL:
medlineplus.gov. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nativeamericanhealth.html
Native Health Databases
The Native Health Databases contain bibliographic information and abstracts
of health-related articles, reports, surveys, and other resource documents
pertaining to the health and health care of American Indians, Alaska Natives,
and Canadian First Nations. The databases provide information for the
benefit, use, and education of organizations and individuals with an interest
in health-related issues, programs, and initiatives regarding North American
indigenous peoples. http://hsc.unm.edu/library/nhd/
Related Journal Articles
National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association: Reducing health
disparities within American Indian and Alaska native populations. J. Parker.
Nursing Outlook, Volume 50, Issue 1, Pages 16-23
Baldwin, J. A, Rolf, J. E., Johnson, J., Bowers, J., Benally, C., Trotter,
R. T. (Nov. 1996) Developing culturally sensitive HIV/AIDS and substance
abuse prevention curricula for Native American youth. Journal of School
Health. 66(9):322-7.
Grossman, D. C., Krieger, J. W., Sugarman, J. R., Forquera, R. A. (March
16, 1994) Health status of urban American Indians and Alaska Natives.
A population-based study. JAMA; 271(11): 845-50
Joe, J. R. (March 2001) Out of harmony: health problems and young Native
American men. Journal of American College Health; 49(5): 237-42
Mitka, M. (Oct 16, 2002) Two new projects to help Native Americans end
substance abuse and domestic violence. JAMA; 288(15): 1834, 1837
Parker, L., Jamous, M., Marek, R., Camacho, C. (June 1991) Traditions
and innovations: a community-based approach to substance abuse prevention.
R I, Med J.; 74(6): 281-6.
Print Resources
Item # BKD406 - CSAP Cultural Competence Series No. 9 Health Promotion
and Substance Abuse Prevention Among American Indian and Alaska Native
Communities: Issues in Cultural Competence
Item # MS419 - CSAP Substance Abuse Resource Guide: American Indians
and Native Alaskans - This resource guide offers current information
on substance abuse among American Indians and Native Alaskans http://www.health.org/referrals/resguides.aspx?InvNum=MS419
Please contact CSAP's Northeast CAPT at capt@edc.org
for more information.
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