Native American Methamphetamine and Other Drug Use and Treatment in the Southwest (MOD)
Principal Investigator: Michael Bogenschutz, M.D.
Protocol Coordinator: Meredith Pampell, M.A.
The first area of research emphasis in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Strategic Plan on Reducing Health Disparities (2004 Revision) is the epidemiology of drug abuse, health consequences and infectious diseases among minority populations. Because there are limited data available on methamphetamine use in American Indian communities, exploratory and pilot studies will be conducted to develop collaborations with tribes and Native American treatment programs in the Southwest and to explore the epidemiology of methamphetamine use and co-occurring problems and disorders in four diverse Native American communities in the Southwest. This preliminary research will be coordinated with parallel studies conducted at other nodes California/Arizona, Oregon/Hawaii, and Pacific Northwest to provide a more comprehensive exploration of methamphetamine problems in Indian country. These studies will provide a solid foundation for more rigorous epidemiologic studies and/or clinical research on methamphetamine dependence in Indian Country.
Principal Investigator: Michael Bogenschutz, M.D.
Protocol Coordinator: Meredith Pampell, M.A.
The first area of research emphasis in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Strategic Plan on Reducing Health Disparities (2004 Revision) is the epidemiology of drug abuse, health consequences and infectious diseases among minority populations. Because there are limited data available on methamphetamine use in American Indian communities, exploratory and pilot studies will be conducted to develop collaborations with tribes and Native American treatment programs in the Southwest and to explore the epidemiology of methamphetamine use and co-occurring problems and disorders in four diverse Native American communities in the Southwest. This preliminary research will be coordinated with parallel studies conducted at other nodes California/Arizona, Oregon/Hawaii, and Pacific Northwest to provide a more comprehensive exploration of methamphetamine problems in Indian country. These studies will provide a solid foundation for more rigorous epidemiologic studies and/or clinical research on methamphetamine dependence in Indian Country.
- Specific Aim 1: Collaborate with at least four Southwestern Native American communities to conduct focus groups with community leaders, substance abuse patients, and substance abuse treatment providers in order to develop qualitative descriptions of perceptions about methamphetamine use, problems related to methamphetamine use (e.g., injury, trauma, infectious disease, mental health), protective factors against methamphetamine use (e.g., spirituality, social networks, community involvement), and treatment of methamphetamine abuse and dependence.
- Specific Aim 2: Assess the prevalence of methamphetamine use and co-occurring problems and disorders in treatment-seeking Native Americans by analyzing Addiction Severity Index interviews with American Indians seeking treatment for substance use at least four Native American treatment programs in the Southwest (total n at least 400).
- Specific Aim 3: Use a brief telephone survey to collect information from a much larger number of locations and agencies. Treatment agencies and criminal justice facilities in Native communities throughout New Mexico and the four-corners region will be contacted by phone and asked to provide estimates of methamphetamine use, correlates, and consequences in the communities they serve, using a structured questionnaire.
