Overview
KAI contracted with the North Dakota Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Division to conduct a mixed-methods partnership with North Dakota tribal nations involving tribal community readiness and adult substance use, perceptions of substance use, and community readiness.
Challenges
- Understanding the current impact that substance misuse has on tribal communities in North Dakota
- Understanding substance-use disorder (SUD) priorities in each North Dakota tribal community
- Understanding gaps in available SUD treatment services available to Native people in North Dakota
Solution
KAI’s work includes the development of a research plan and sampling strategy, reviewing existing literature and data, developing and piloting the survey instrument using validated national and tribal examples, working with tribal leaders and representatives to measure stakeholder engagement, coordinating tribal Institutional Review Board approval and amendments, leading key informant interviews, collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and providing a comprehensive report to the state and four participating tribal nations.
Results
Through in-person and virtual data collection, KAI was able to gather 2,000 surveys from community members over the course of 3 months. In addition to this data collection, KAI performed a semistructured sixty-minute interview with two key individuals from each tribal community. Final deliverables included a statewide SUD-needs assessment and four tribal-specific SUD needs assessments.
