Great Plains Cultural Ways Mental Health Careers Program

申请者描述(由申请者提供)：本申请旨在为内布拉斯加州-林肯大学(UNL)的大平原美国印第安人学生荣誉本科生培训项目提供为期五年的研究、教育和培训(COR)职业机会。尽管美洲印第安人在美国少数民族中只占很小的比例，但大平原原住民在经济和社会上处于严重的不利地位。这一群体的心理健康需求没有得到充分满足，需要训练有素的心理健康研究人员，他们熟悉大平原土著社区，并将受到欢迎，这是至关重要的。北卡罗来纳州立大学为NIH提供了600多万美元的资金，涉及与美洲印第安人国家的研究，与内布拉斯加州和邻近各州的部落大学建立了牢固的联系，并致力于为原住民学生服务，这使其成为开展COR项目的理想地点。拟议的培训计划将建立在一种特定于文化的研究方法上，其中将包括传统的幸福方法以及欧洲对精神健康研究和评估的方法。它将包括土著教师、学生导师和顾问委员会成员，以确保在培训计划的每个层面上都有文化敏感性。此外，该培训计划将提供最先进的心理健康和药物滥用基础与预防研究方面的实习培训。该计划将包括创新的学习社区方法，维持社区支持和与社区联系的部落指导，来自当地治疗师、长老、精神领袖和社会服务提供者的学分课程，以及保留或基于原住民城市的研究实习。除了极少数例外，目前的培训计划没有为土著人口提供足够的服务。大平原没有培训计划，尽管美国的许多美洲印第安人居住在那里。拟议的计划满足了本土本科生为心理健康研究职业做准备的迫切需求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks five years of funding to initiate a Career Opportunity in Research Education and Training (COR) honors undergraduate training program for Great Plains American Indian students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Although American Indians make up a small percentage of U.S. minorities, Great Plains Native people are severely disadvantaged economically and socially. Mental health needs in this population are not adequately addressed and the need for trained mental health researchers who are familiar with and who will be welcomed into Great Plains Native communities is critical. UNL's more than $6M in NIH funding involving research with American Indian nations, strong ties to tribal colleges within Nebraska and adjacent states, and commitment to serving Native students makes it an ideal site for a COR program. The proposed training program will build on a culturally specific research approach that will include traditional approaches to well being along with European approaches to mental health research and evaluation. It will include Native teachers, student mentors, and advisory board members to insure cultural sensitivity at every level of the training program. In addition, the training program will provide state-of-the-science internship training in mental health and substance abuse basic and prevention research. The program will involve innovative learning community methods, tribal mentorship to maintain community support and ties to the community, credited courses from native healers, elders, spiritual leaders, and social services providers, and reservation or Native urban based research internships. With very few exceptions, current training programs have underserved the Native population. There are no Great Plains training programs although many of the Nation's American Indians reside there. The proposed program meets a critical need for preparing native undergraduates for careers in mental health research.