Peer discussion post responses. 60 words each.
Peer #1 Clea
When looking at the Native American mock community case study you are able to see and feel the traumas of the past, and how they have bled into the present and for some the future. Native Americans basically had a complete genocide when Eurpoeans came over due to new diseases, war and famines. They were herded onto reservations only to have their children removed from them so they could have the “Indian beat out of them.” This group of people have had enormous resilience, however, “this resilience comes with a price, which is reflected in the physical and mental health disparities observed in tribal communities today.” (Grigorenko, E. L., & Garcia, J. L., 2020). Due to the way this culture was treated in the past, there is fear of white people, unhealthy coping mechanisms and a loss of their cultural identity.
The culture of my community depends on where you are in the county. I live in the biggest, most diverse area of the county, however it is still predominantly white and conservataive. This plays a major role in the cultural attitude in my community. There are those that embrace and welcome other costumes, cultures and people and those that want it to “stay the way it always was.” I think the best way to integrate culture into my community prevention program (alcohol addiction) is through having a diverse staff of people who work at my program. By having a variety of people, you also have a variety of worldviews, life experiences and people are more apt to work with someone who looks like them.
A person’s culture helps define who they are, so I believe it is imperative to have a culturally diverse representation which in turn will help with the effectiveness of the program. There is no better way to show someone that you care about them and want to help them then by embracing everything that makes them a person, and you can’t do that without understanding and valuing their culture.
Grigorenko, E. L., & Garcia, J. L. (2020). Historical Trauma and American Indian/Alaska Native Youth Mental Health Development and Delinquency. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2020(169), 41. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/cad.20332
Peer # 2 Melissa
In the mock case study, the Natives displayed cultural mistrust. Ocampo (2010) reported that, in consideration of the extraordinary high prevalence of mental health and substance abuse problems among many indigenous peoples, as well as the associated relative ineffectiveness of standard mental health practices, a call is made for evidenced-based, culturally relevant health practices that emerge from a constructionist framework rooted in Indigenous psychologies. This is imperative since cultural mistrust emerged because of shared experiences of genocide, bondage, colonization and alienation that have affected and continue to affect First Nations peoples worldwide.
My community is culturally diverse. There is mix of Europeans, Asians, Hispanics, and Blacks from various ethnicities (the Caribbeans and South America). Overall, the school district is a key stakeholder when it comes to community projects. Both students and parents get involved in various activities, whether it be mental health, substance use, or strategies to improve family life, student academics.
To provide culturally competent care, Sagoe and Murray (2018) reported that culture is a form of prevention. Using strengths-based framework including concepts such as cultural connectedness, narrative resilience, honoring treaties, conflict resolution, reconciliation, community empowerment, family cohesion, and cultural affinity is more likely to be effective and accepted by communities where cultural mistrust is prevalent. Any evidence-based substance abuse curriculum and practice-based initiatives must incorporate things like values, traditional beliefs which are:
- Language, symbolism, names
- Artifact, or the things people create such as art and technology
- Relationships
- Ceremonies, customary practices
- Interpretation of emotional states
- Gender, gender practices
- Governing, code of conduct
- Understandings of Wellness and Illness
- Food and Food Sovereignty
- Oral histories, folklore, and knowledge system
- Religion and spirituality
Graham et al. (2015) recommended using a conceptual framework for utilizing community engagement principles to facilitate an evolution in transdisciplinary translational science that relies on community-engaged partners throughout the translational process. This framework is the translational science process which considers various ways to broaden the understanding of how culture and diversity may impact the application of preventive interventions. This requires consideration of the target population, their specific community contexts, and the individual and system level factors that may impact the design, implementation, effectiveness, and dissemination of the intervention. Translational science is defined as a new effort to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and the development of new strategies to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease. Culture and diversity are suggested as multi-system level considerations that will inform research design, implementation, effectiveness, and dissemination efforts while also increasing the translatability of intervention results at the individual and system levels (2015).
References:
Graham, P. W., Kim, M. M., Clinton-Sherrod, A. M., Yaros, A., Richmond, A. N., Jackson, M., & Corbie-Smith, G. (2016). What is the role of culture, diversity, and community engagement in transdisciplinary translational science?. Translational behavioral medicine, 6(1), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0368-2
Ocampo, C. (2010). Is there such a thing as indigenous mental health? Implications for research, education, practice and policymaking in psychology. Communique. http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/communique/2010/08/indigenous-mental-health
Sagoe, C. & Murray, S. (2018). Culture is prevention. Native Connections, 2018.
Peer #3 Paula
Culture has affected the existing prevention program in the mock community case study in every way. Culture prevented scientific evaluations from being conducted to study the background and views of the community on drug use. The community members avoid exposing their vulnerability by submitting to interviews because of their culture.
The program director pointed community culture in the creation and implementation of his very customized program. He also used his culture as part of the prevention strategy. The program was heavily influenced by culture.
Culture has also affected my community prevention planning in every way. My plan is to include tribal leaders and spiritual leaders at the beginning of program implementation because without their support, the program will not be received by the community. I will integrate culture into my proposed program by listening to the tribal leaders and community members, being aware of my own cultural biases, learning more about the culture of the tribe and the community, and by implementing cultural norms into the program. This is the only way to make the prevention program effective,
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