This summer, I’ve been working as a Research Intern with the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health (CCUIH) on the Gathering of Native Americans (GONA) longitudinal, cross-site research project. Usually, as soon as I say GONA, people ask me what this intervention is all about, so let’s start there! GONA is a highly-adaptable health promotion curriculum that is utilized by various Indigenous health care and community organizations. It was developed nearly twenty years ago by Native American social workers in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). While different intervention sites set unique goals based on community needs, the overarching goals of the GONA are: “1) To provide a training experience that offers hope, encouragement, and a positive basis for Native community action; 2) To provide Native communities with a framework to examine historical trauma and its impact on alcohol and substance abuse issues today; 3) To provide a training experience that emphasizes skills transfer and community empowerment; and 4) To present a prevention strategy framework that is based on values inherent in traditional Native cultures such as belonging, mastery, interdependence, and generosity.”1 In California, two of the members of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health (CCUIH): the Fresno American Indian Health Project (FAIHP) and Native American Health Center utilize the GONA curriculum as a tool to work with American Indian adolescents. In 2012, these two sites began to survey youth GONA participants prior to their participation in the GONA intervention, directly following their participation and six-months after their participation in the GONA. Now, in 2016, we’ve got five years of data on GONA participants and counting! This summer, FAIHP had 70 youth (between the ages of 11 and 17) participate in their GONA. Check out the group photo from the 2016 FAIHP GONA below. The research team is still waiting to receive the data from the Native American Health Center for their 2016 GONA, as the intervention just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago! Photo credit: Fresno American Indian Health Project and the Native American Media Lab Team Given the paucity of research on the health of Urban American Indian adolescents and effective interventions in addressing health disparities of this vulnerable population, we are pleased that so many GONA attendees are willing to participate in the study. I look forward to sharing the results of our longitudinal analysis with the communities from whom this data originates, as well as with the UC Berkeley community! -Carolyn Kraus, UC Berkeley - UCSF Joint Medical Program, Innovations for Youth Summer Fellow 1: Gathering of Native Americans Trainer Guide. Provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Center. http://www.samhsa.gov/tribal-ttac
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