Since 2005, the Family Listening/Circle Program (FL/CP), an intergenerational (child/ parent/elder) family prevention program, has been co-designed and put into practice by a partnership between the Center for Participatory Research and three New Mexico tribes, with tribal community members as creators and facilitators of the program. Historical timelines showing community history and evolution of the partnership are available through clicking on the program logos below.
Initially funded by the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH III with the Pueblo of Jemez and the Ramah Band of Navajos (2005-2009); and NARCH V with the Mescalero Apache Nation (2009-2014), all three communities had the opportunity to co-develop their curriculum and pilot test their individual program with families, including 4th-6th grade children, parents and elders. An evaluation of pilots found child participants increased their cultural identity and, coping, and decreased measures of anxiety and depression, risk factors for later substance abuse. Adult participants increased their awareness about the importance of native language, culture, health, family communication and increased coping and control.
From 2014-2020, the Center for Participatory Research received a five-year R01 grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) for the three communities to join forces to rigorously test the FL/CP program as a culturally-centered and evidence-based prevention program. Co-principal investigators were Dr. Nina Wallerstein (College of Population Health-Public Health Program) and Dr. Lorenda Belone (College of Education-Health Education)
The aggregated quantitative data from all three tribes validated pilot data of strengthened mental health outcomes and leadership skills for children, with qualitative data showing the effectiveness of the program to reinforce cultural identity, history, and language for both children and adults. Results are being provided back to each Tribal Research Team and community for their own use and for their own publication as approved by their tribal authorities.
Our intention was to illustrate how an intervention can integrate shared “academic evidence-based components” with “cultural knowledge and practice-based evidence,” specific to each community. The research draws from implementation and CBPR science, that culture and community contexts are important for interventions to be effective and for community ownership and sustainability.
A current RO1 (2020-2025) to Dr. Lorenda Belone at the College of Education and Human Services continues to partner with UNM-CPR to test the development of a dissemination strategy and implementation of Family Listening in three new tribal communities, two Navajo/Diné and one Pueblo.
UNM-CPR and the College of Education are committed to CBPR partnerships with tribal communities as we continue to strengthen research capacity among tribal partners for future prevention research and programs, and to make a difference in substance abuse prevention research design nationally.
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