Pilot Test of a Cultural Intervention to Enhance Alaska Native Students' Behavioral Health

University of Alaska Anchorage

Status: Completed

Conditions: Suicidal Ideation; Substance Use; Depression; Anxiety

Treatments: Behavioral: Knowing Who You Are (Becoming): Cultural Identity Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04561544

1210302

U54GM115371 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project aims to enhance AN university students' behavioral health by supporting their cultural identity development. While the connection between cultural identity and behavioral health is becoming clearer, comparably less research has explored methods of enhancing identity development. Consequently, the investigators will pilot a cultural identity development program for AN students at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). This intervention is based on extant scientific literature, local findings from focus group with AN students, and traditional wisdom from AN Elders. The eight-week Elder-facilitated program incorporates storytelling, experiential learning, connection, exploration, and sharing of identity, cultural strengths, life paths, and rootedness in who they are in order to remain grounded when they face changes and challenges. Approximately 40 to 50 AN university students will be recruited for the intervention. Participants will be randomized, with half the participants receiving the intervention in the Fall 2020 semester and half the students receiving the intervention in the Spring 2021 semester. We hypothesize that engaging in this intervention will strengthen AN students' cultural identities, strengths, and sense of community; improve their behavioral health, as evidenced in higher self-reported wellbeing, and lower substance use, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation symptoms; and support their academic persistence and achievement. Outcomes will be tested via mixed design analyses of covariance. Moreover, program feasibility will be examined through a process evaluation, which will entail thematic analyses of six focus groups with program participants (n=40-50) and with the Elders who facilitated the program (n=5).

Enrollment: 44 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 100 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• self-identify as Alaska Native,
• are registered as an undergraduate student at UAA,
• are at least 18 years old,
• speak English

Exclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Sequential Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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44 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention in Fall 2020

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive the intervention in Fall 2020

Treatment:

Behavioral: Knowing Who You Are (Becoming): Cultural Identity Intervention

Intervention in Spring 2021

Other group

Description:

Control in Fall 2020

Treatment:

Behavioral: Knowing Who You Are (Becoming): Cultural Identity Intervention