Talking Circle for Native American Youth (AYoLi)

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Emotional Stress; Mental Health Wellness 1; Behavior, Health

Treatments: Behavioral: Talking Circle intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT06781736

1UG3AT012547-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

STUDY00004266

Details and patient eligibility

About

Native American youth have higher rates of depression and lifetime major depressive episodes, and, by age 11, are more likely to have initiated alcohol and substance use than any other racial/ethnic group. The COVID19 pandemic only compounded this suffering--anxiety, stress, depression, substance use, and suicide related mental health disorders skyrocketed in many Native American communities, especially among youth. Though many are desperate for help, treatment options are scarce to non-existent. To meet this urgent need, our overarching objective is to leverage the empirically proven, highly effective, school based, Talking Circle intervention to promote the mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health of geographically diverse (rural, urban) Native American youth. This study, "Talking Circle for Native American Youth Living Well (A Yo Li)" uses a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach to evaluate Talking Circle effectiveness, partnering with the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) of Cherokee Indians Tribe in Oklahoma, with members living in two geographically diverse areas, Adair County (rural), and Tulsa City (urban). "A Yo Li" in the UKB tribal language means "youth".

Full description

Specific aims for Phase 1 (UG3) include:

UG3 Aim 1. To inform adaptation of the school-based Talking Circle intervention, a Community Partnership Committee (CPC) of UKB members will be developed to conduct a needs/asset mapping process to assess the needs, priorities, and resources for MEB health of UKB youth, paying special attention to the nuances of cultural difference between rural and urban UKB communities in Oklahoma.

UG3 Aim 2. To conduct a Talking Circle intervention Facilitator Training Program with rural and urban UKB tribal community members to catalyze capacity building and sustainability for future intervention.

UG3 Aim 3. To pilot the adapted evidenced-based Talking Circle intervention for the promotion of MEB health among (N=20) 10 to 12 year-olds UKB youth in Oklahoma.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 10 to 12 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Native American students
• English speakers
• Read and write English
• At risk for mental health and behavioral health issues

Exclusion criteria

• Not Native American
• Non-English speakers
• Not able to read and write English
• Not at risk for mental health or behavioral health issues

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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20 participants in 1 patient group

Mental Health Wellness 1

Other group

Description:

Talking Circle Intervention to promote the mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being

Treatment:

Behavioral: Talking Circle intervention