- Depression and alcohol abuse among indigenous people, what can we do

Historical Oppresion, Family Resilience and Depression: Martialing Indigenous based knowledge and research to predict and explain health disparities

According to the Indian Health Service (2016), the suicide rate for Indigenous peoples in the United States (US) is 1.6 times that of the non-Indigenous peoples (see https://www.ihs.gov/newsroom/factsheets/disparities/). Because depression is often an underlying contributor to suicidality, ameliorating depressive symptoms among Indigenous peoples is integral to addressing this health disparity. Yet, a lack of Indigenous-based knowledge and research precludes a thorough understanding and explanation of why such health disparities persist. The purpose of this paper is to use the Indigenous-based framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence to examine depressive symptoms among members of two Southeastern AI/AN communities in the US. This convergent mixed-methods design began with qualitative ethnographic research with 436 Indigenous participants across two tribes. Two Indigenous-grounded scales were created directly from qualitative results: the Historical Oppression Scale and the Family Resilience Scale. Next, a cross-tribal sample of 127 Indigenous peoples completed a follow-up survey. The results from the regression analysis indicated that historical oppression, family resilience, daily hassles, and family income significantly predicted depressive symptom scores. The model explained almost 60% of the variance related to depressive symptoms (adjusted R²=.573). As Historical Oppression and daily hassles increased, so did depressive symptoms; whereas an increase in family resilience and family income resulted in lower levels of depressive symptoms. The study findings support the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence, indicating that historical and contemporary forms of oppression give rise to health disparities, such as depression; yet, family resilience can buffer against some health disparities. This research highlights the precise, valuable, and robust findings that result from culturally-grounded Indigenous research

"Gender aspects of alcohol abuse among Evenks people in Yakutia"

Social problems of Evenki have been studied in the village Iengra, Yakutia. Alcoholism caused by the pressure of modernization stress became as the marginalization factor in indigenous people in Iengra, as well as a cause of increase the accidents, suicides, crime numbers.

In the village the struggle with alcoholism leads by the narcologist SM Anatolyev. The narcologist’s report presented 114 cases of recovery (63%), 17 cases of death (10%). Among the causes of deaths registered by narcologist, there were 9 accidents (52%), one suicide (2%) and 7 somatic diseases (46%).

For this reason, the Evenki registered in narcological dispensary voluntarily, despite the fact that it threatens the loss of the right to have weapons. During 5 years, 185 people have been treated by encoding method, of whom the number of women amounted to 98 persons (52%).

The Evenki men and women are suffered from the alcohol abusing equally. The first reason deals with unemployment. The second reason - it is the presence of a boarding school. It allows to women to have a marginal life.

The third reason is the relation of alcoholism with the changes in type of food. Moving away from the traditional type of food that due to the abundance of fat led to a reduction in corticosteroid levels - "stress hormone" contributes to alcohol abuse development.

The revival of some form of state paternalism can help to limit the amount of alcohol sold, to reduce of unemployment, to develop traditional forms of subsistence. These measures should reduce the alcoholism level among both: in Evenki men and as well as in Evenki women.

"The care needs of aged women with substance abuse problems and the development of home-based work model"

The use of alcohol is becoming more common among the aged as alcohol users are aging. Workers in elderly services and substance abuse work have expressed their concern over elderly people's increasing substance abuse problems. This submission discusses the life situations and care needs of aged women with substance abuse problems and a home care model designed for these women.

The research material consisted of five women aged 65–71 years and living alone in Finland. The analysis of the material produced three main themes: staying home in isolation, having difficulty getting help, and hoping to get home care for substance abuse. These themes served as a basis for developing the substance abuse work model.

The women associated their drinking with feelings of guilt and shame. Home care for substance abuse is important in a situation where a woman can no longer leave her home. In addition to drinking, also reduced mobility and fear of social encounters prevented the women from seeking help. The model combines expertise on gerontological and substance abuse work with an understanding of the meaning of gender. The issue is approached from the perspective of gerontological substance abuse work. Home care for substance abuse is a combination of various methods including home visits, case management, multi-professional networking, and collaboration with close relatives and the third sector. The model focuses on encounters between social workers and aged women and on work in the client’s home. The model is suited for small localities where substance abuse care is part of social work.

Session Nr.3: "