A Culturally Adapted Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program for Aboriginal Children and Youth

Abstract

A Culturally Adapted Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program for Aboriginal Children and Youth Lola T. Baydala, Betty Sewlal, MSc , Carmen Rasmussen, Kathleen Alexis, Fay Fletcher, PhD , Liz Letendre, Janine Odishaw, PhD , Merle Kennedy, PhD , and Brenda Kootenay What Is the Purpose of the Study? • To review, adapt, and deliver the first year of a 3-year, school-based substance abuse prevention program for Aboriginal children and youth. What Is the Problem? • The National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program has identified substance abuse as a significant area of concern within Aboriginal communities across Canada, yet effective, school-based substance abuse prevention programs are not available to the majority of First Nation schools. • Prevention programs that are available often fail to capture and integrate the cultural beliefs and values of the community where the program is delivered. What Are the Main Findings? • Positive changes in student participants’ drug and alcohol refusal skills, self-beliefs, and knowledge of the negative effects of drug and alcohol use. • Ownership of and investment in the program by the community. • Documentation of the relevance, importance, and benefits of employing a culturally adapted substance abuse prevention program with Aboriginal students attending a First Nations school through the inclusion of teaching approaches and activities that fit the learning contexts, worldviews, and relationships of the community. • Participation of Elders to ensure that learning activities reflect traditional ways of knowing. Who Should Care Most? • Health and Education stakeholders of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation. • First Nations Communities in Canada that operate band-controlled schools. • First Nations and Inuit Health, Health Canada. Recommendations for Action • Working collaboratively, Aboriginal communities can and should develop school-based, culturally adapted tools for the prevention of substance abuse. • Aboriginal community members can and should deliver culturally appropriate programs. • Build on existing research to adapt, deliver, and evaluate the full 3-year, culturally adapted elementary and middle school programs to students at Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation School. [End Page 7] Lola T. Baydala Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta Betty Sewlal Alexis Board of Education, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Carmen Rasmussen Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta Kathleen Alexis Alexis Board of Education, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Fay Fletcher Center for Health Promotion, School of Public Health and Faculty of Extension Liz Letendre Alexis Board of Education, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Janine Odishaw University of Alberta Merle Kennedy Misericordia Hospital Brenda Kootenay Alexis Board of Education, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation Copyright © 2009 The Johns Hopkins University Press