Indigenous Recovery Planning for American Indians

This research project uses a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) framework to test the efficacy of a culturally adapted relapse prevention intervention developed collaboratively by community partners from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana and research partners from Montana State University. The Indigenous Recovery Planning intervention employs trained Fort Peck community members to deliver manualized intervention content to American Indian adults with substance use disorder (SUD). By increasing access to culturally responsive evidence-based treatment, this research aims to decrease SUD-related health disparities and improve public health outcomes for underserved Native communities locally and nationally.

Receives Indigenous Recovery Planning (IRP) intervention, which includes 6 weekly group intervention sessions lasting about 2 hours each.

Participants in the waitlist control group do not receive the intervention until after treatment group completes the intervention. Outcomes will be compared between the 2 study arms at baseline and at follow-up, at which point the treatment group will have completed the intervention and the waitlist control group will have not yet been exposed to the intervention, thereby serving as the control group.

The Indigenous Recovery Planning (IRP) intervention consists of a 6-week group-based intervention. Each of the 6 weekly sessions is delivered by a community member facilitator. Facilitators lead the group through a series of culturally adapted relapse prevention exercises designed to change their substance use. Focus areas for the 6 sessions are: 1) introduction and goal setting; 2) relapse and recovery; 3) craving, mindfulness, and self-compassion; 4) coping with trauma and stress; 5) enlisting social support for recovery; 6) envisioning and planning for the future.

Percent days absent will be measured using the Timeline Followback (TLFB), a widely used calendar-based recall instrument shown to yield valid and reliable estimates of substance use behavior. Additional analyses will be conducted with other variables derived from TLFB data, including number of drinks per drinking day, percent heavy drinking days, and percent drug use days.

At Time 1, we will assess alcohol and drug use in the 90 days prior to assessment, and each subsequent assessment will measure use in the time since the previous one (approximately 6 weeks).

Inclusion Criteria: American Indian, 18 years of age or older, living on the Fort Peck reservation, meeting diagnostic criteria for Substance Use Disorder, wanting treatment/help with recovery. Exclusion Criteria: Not meeting inclusion criteria.