Assessing Cultures of Recovery in Tribal Communities - Research Core - Training Evaluation

For the First Face Training Evaluation study, the researchers will build upon our previous work by evaluating a culturally grounded community mental health training curriculum, First Face for Mental Health. The researchers developed First Face in collaboration with stakeholders from seven Tribal nations to reflect these communities' cultural traditions and values. First Face is a culturally-appropriate community-based mental health training for lay persons and others living and working in Tribal communities that prepares learners to provide assistance to someone having a mental health crisis. By training more individuals in a community to identify, intervene, and connect struggling individuals with the support they need, community culture can be transformed to recognize and address mental health crises.

The overall goal for this First Face Training Evaluation Study (the Research Core component of the Assessing Cultures of Recovery in Tribal Communities Native American Research Centers for Health [NARCH] Center grant issued by NIH) is to evaluate the impact of First Face training both on the trainees and within the Tribal communities as a whole. This Registration covers the evaluation of trainee effects.

The Training Evaluation study will evaluate First Face training using a waitlist control design, implemented in seven tribes, which includes five assessment time points for both initial trainees (n=350) and waitlist controls (n=350). These assessments will measure knowledge about mental health and addiction, as well as the ability and confidence of individuals to respond appropriately to mental health crises.

The researchers will recruit participants from the seven tribes via community-wide announcements and information provided through multiple departments and organizations within each tribe. The Healing Lodge research team and Working Group members will work directly and in person with the tribes to facilitate this recruitment. The researchers will recruit the sample proportional to the size of each tribe (e.g., 30 from the smallest tribe; 280 from the largest). They will assign participants within each tribe as they sign up for the study to either the initial training group or the waitlist control group, based on participant preference, or if no preference, random assignment. To ensure a final recruitment of 700 who are able to attend the trainings, the researchers will attempt to recruit 1,000 initially, allowing a 30% attrition rate for individuals who cannot attend any of the offered training dates.

Multiple trainings of 15-30 individuals will occur separately within each tribe. As shown int he timeline, 350 individuals in the initial training group will receive training and complete a baseline and post-training survey at the time of training. At that same time, the 350 individuals in the waitlist control group will complete an online pre-baseline survey. Six months later, the waitlist control group will undergo training (again, multiple trainings of 15-30 individuals will occur separately within each tribe) and complete baseline and post-training surveys. At the same time, the 350 individuals in the initial training group will complete an online 6 month follow-up survey. Six months later, both groups will complete online surveys - the initial training group will complete their 12-month follow-up and the waitlist control group will complete their 6-month follow-up. Twelve months later, both groups will again complete online surveys -- the initial training group will complete a 24-month follow-up and the waitlist control group will complete an 18-month follow-up.