Mescalero Disparities Project Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart

Mescalero Disparities Project Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Ph. D. Doreen Bird, MPH June 12, 2011

Mescalero Tribal Preventive and Early Mental Health Intervention In Partnership: Mescalero Apache Tribe Mescalero Schools Mescalero Apache School Based Health Center Goal Over 5 years, to develop a culturally responsive prevention intervention to reduce mental, emotional, and behavioral problems for Mescalero Apache youth/teens/adolescents Modify intervention as needed based on results from pilot study Mental Health Prevention and Intervention Program (MHPIP) Task Force of Mescalero community providers, members, and traditional cultural advisors Pilot feasibility of the chosen/culturally adapted intervention Determine key mental, emotional, and behavioral issues Mescalero youth face (depression and suicide risk) Assess cultural and social appropriateness of proposed interventions to address the identified issues Culturally adapt screening tools/measures for disorders such PTSD, depression, early signs of psychosis, and to explore assessment of the impact of historical trauma upon the youth Mescalero Youth Suicide Prevention Project Tribal Health Services Indian Health Services Students Traditional/Cultural Advisors other community members CRCBH Team Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart (Hunkpapa/Oglala Lakota), PI Steven Adelsheim, PI Richard Hough, PI Jessica Goodkind Melina Salvador Doreen Bird (Kewa) Consultants Nadine Tafoya (Mescalero Apache) Doug Novins NM Cares Funders National Institute of Health/ National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities art, Ph. D

MHPIP Year 1 Timeline Year 1 Identify key mental, emotional, and behavioral issues Mescalero youth face Discuss coordination with community BH prevention outreach, education, identification, referrals Culturally adapt screening tools/measures for disorders such as PTSD, depression & impact of historical trauma Summary of review process & recommendations Year 2 Intro of MHPIP TF members & introduction to MHPIP goals; possible modification of project goals Indicates tasks completed Assess cultural and social appropriateness of proposed interventions to address the identified issues Review suggested modifications for the MFG intervention Review & suggest modification for proposed Life Function Scales/ MHPIP Satisfaction & Cultural Acceptability Scale

Year One Challenges � Community Based: � Navigating Tribal Politics � � Task force group process Negotiating key stakeholder buy in � University & Funding Based: Contracts � -clinician, consultant � � Carry Over funding � Delayed Project Start Up Budget restrictions -Meal reimbursements for task force meetings �

Year Two Planned Activities � Hire clinician from the community � Review � Revise assessment instruments intervention for cultural specificity � Recruit � Pilot participants intervention � Begin data collection

Evaluation Year 1: • Task force meeting notes shared with TF members and reviewed by Mescalero Steering Committee. • Activities plotted on time line to see accomplishments and review work still needed to be done. • Internal budget review to see over/under expenditures Year 2: Pilot intervention – data collection Years 3 -5: Pilot completion & data analysis