Clinical trial NCT04561544: Pilot Test of a Cultural Intervention to Enhance Alaska Native Students' Behavioral Health
Official title: Pilot Test of a Cultural Intervention to Enhance Alaska Native Students' Behavioral Health
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Depression
Anxiety
Suicidal Ideation
Substance Use
Keywords: Cultural Identity
Sense of Community
Wellbeing
Alaska Native
Lead sponsor: University of Alaska Anchorage
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
First posted: 2020-09-23
Enrollment: 44
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 100
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: 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).


Eligibility criteria: 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:

-

Primary outcomes:
measure: Degree of Identification with Cultural Identity at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Identification with Cultural Identity Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Identification with Cultural Identity at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Degree of Identification with Cultural Strengths at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Identification with Cultural Strengths Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Identification with Cultural Strengths at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Strength of Sense of Community with Alaska Native People at University at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Strength of Sense of Community with Alaska Native People at University Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Strength of Sense of Community with Alaska Native People at University at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Degree of Wellbeing at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Wellbeing Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Wellbeing at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Degree of Anxiety Symptoms at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Anxiety Symptoms Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Anxiety Symptoms at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Degree of Depression Symptoms at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Depression Symptoms Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Depression Symptoms at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Degree of Suicidality Symptoms at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Suicidality Symptoms Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Suicidality Symptoms at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Degree of Substance Use at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Degree of Substance Use Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Degree of Substance Use at 6-Month Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Academic Achievement at Baseline
timeFrame: Baseline, Pre-Intervention
measure: Change in Baseline Academic Achievement Immediately Following Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Change in Post-Intervention Academic Achievement at 1-Year Follow-Up
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 12 Months After Intervention
measure: Rate of Students Maintaining University Enrollment Semester of Intervention
timeFrame: Immediately After Intervention
measure: Rate of Students Maintaining University Enrollment Semester after Intervention
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 6 Months After Intervention
measure: Rate of Students Maintaining University Enrollment One Year Post-Intervention
timeFrame: Follow-Up, Approximately 12 Months After Intervention
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Anchorage
country: United States
facility: University of Alaska Anchorage
state: Alaska
Study officials:
References: