ONE CIRCLE (Organizing Nurses to Engage Communities In Research and Collaborations Linking Evidence) to Address Youth Alcohol Use in a Reservation Community

Complex determinants of health and persistent disproportionate disease burden experienced by reservation communities has resulted in calls for collaborative approaches to research including working with tribally governed communities to better understand and address these disparities. This presentation will describe the process of developing an evidence-based practice (EBP) intervention focused on youth alcohol use in a reservation based Native American community. Research reveals that early onset of alcohol use is correlated with subsequent alcohol abuse and associated behavioral problems including alcohol related injury and violence, early pregnancy, absenteeism from school or work as well as increased risk for using other drugs. ONE CIRCLE incorporates community based participatory research (CPBR) principles to train and mentor nurses in a five step EBP process for clinical decision-making, developing policies and implementing programs. ONE CIRCLE: Fort Belknap is a partnership between Fort Belknap Nursing (IHS and Tribal), Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center that combines clinical and public health nursing approaches to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions targeting adolescent alcohol use. The multifaceted approach includes a screening and referral system and public health campaign. National agencies, including the Indian Health Service (IHS) are supportive of CPBR as an essential tool for resource poor communities that have historically been the subjects of research efforts which have neglected to reflect the priorities and values of these communities. Engaging and training nurses working in tribal communities increases community capacity and may increase community driven, youth guided, and culturally relevant interventions.