Two ambitious drug and alcohol studies were launched this spring by the UW's Center for Indigenous Health Research, part of the IWRI-NCE, in partnership with tribal colleges and the UW’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute and the Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors. One, the Tribal Colleges and Universities Behavioral Health Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Intervention (TCU-BASICS), proposes to create a specific cultural modification of the BASICS intervention which has not yet been tested or modified with American Indian and Alaska Native students. The second study is the TCU Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health Epidemiologic Behavioral Wellness Study (TCU ADME).
The TCU-BASICS study is being conducted in tandem with the TCU-ADME. This will be the first-ever survey conducted at 24 (out of 37) TCU that measures the prevalence of alcohol, drugs and mental health issues among students. It delves into and introduces Native-specific factors such as historical trauma and environmental colonialism that are often ignored or missing in mainstream surveys. The TCU-ADME study will be launched in the 2014-2015 fall academic term and will serve as the baseline for the TCU-BASICS study. Out of the 24 TCU participating in the survey, six TCU will be BASICS intervention sites; the small number of intervention sites is reflective of federal funding limitations. However, the manual that the research team will generate from the Native-specific adaptation of BASICS holds the promise of becoming an invaluable tool applicable to all TCU.
