American Indian Cultures: How CBPR Illuminated Intertribal Cultural Elements Fundamental to an Adaptation Effort

Leslie Jumper-Reeves, Patricia Allen Dustman, Mary L. Harthun, Stephen Kulis, Eddie F. Brown

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ever-increasing numbers of ethnic minority populations in the USA seeking social services suggest that a "multicultural paradigm shift" is underway and gaining speed. This shift will increasingly demand that prevention programs and interventions be more culturally responsive. Interventions that are not aligned with prospective participants' world views and experiences are only minimally effective. Existing models for conducting culturally grounded program adaptations emphasize identifying distinct levels of cultural influences while preserving core elements of the original intervention. An effective adaptation requires competent language translation as well as trained translations of program concepts and principles that will be meaningful to the targeted group, without compromising program fidelity. This article describes how a university research team and curriculum developers worked with American Indian youth and adults in a large southwestern city using a CBPR process to identify cultural elements that became foundational to the adaptation of a prevention curriculum that is a national model program, with the objective of increasing its applicability for urban native youth.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)547-556
Number of pages10
JournalPrevention Science
Volume15
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2014

Keywords

  • Adaptation
  • Adolescents
  • CBPR
  • Cultural elements
  • Substance abuse prevention
  • Urban American Indian

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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