This application entitled """"""""A Computer-based Drug Prevention Intervention for Native American Youth"""""""" addresses the broad Challenge Area (04): Clinical Research and specific Challenge Topic, 04-DA-103 """"""""Extending the Reach of Web-Based Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment to Rural and Other Remote Locations"""""""". American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/ANs) have some of the highest rates of substance use compared to other ethnic groups. The problem is particularly acute among Indian youth in reservations and remote rural areas and has been attributed to factors such as poverty, low cost and easy availability. These trends in drug use place AI youth at increased risk for participating in potentially dangerous behaviors;indeed, substance misuse is the leading cause of the disproportionately high morbidity and mortality rates found among American Indian teens. Despite the seriousness of the problem, there is a severe lack of evidence- based drug prevention interventions for AI/AN youth. This application directly addresses the need for evidence- based, culturally relevant drug prevention interventions that are accessible and engaging to Native American youth in remote locations. We propose to extend the reach of an existing, efficacious substance abuse prevention program for Native American youth by transforming it into a low-cost, computerized intervention. The intervention, known as the Statewide Indian Drug Prevention Program (SIDPP) focuses on adolescent skills training;
is aim ed at AI/ANs in fourth, fifth and sixth graders, and has been evaluated in diverse settings. Our work will proceed in two stages: (1) a product development stage where we will develop a new media version of the SIDPP program-termed C-SIDPP--for Internet-based and computer-based delivery (using USB Flash drives). (2) a research stage whereby we will study the effectiveness of such a computer-based intervention among Native Youth by running randomized controlled trials to evaluate its efficacy in promoting drug prevention skills and behavior, and to determine if computerized interventions are a feasible alternative in remote Native American schools in terms of student appeal and ease of delivery.
This project will develop and evaluate a multimedia, internet and computer-version of an existing, effective drug-prevention program for Native American youth that is low-cost, culturally relevant and engaging. In doing so, it will facilitate NIH's goals of (a) decreasing substance abuse among minority youth (b) enhancing the use of evidence-based prevention programs and (c) promote the health communication Objective 11-3 outlined in Healthy People 2010 i.e. increasing the quality of information presented on health-related web sites (Objective 11-3;U.S. DHHS 2000).
