Mental Health and Diabetes among Ojibwe Adults

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research aims to identify and understand culturally-specific mental health and substance use issues comorbid with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), and further investigate the impact of such comorbidity on treatment compliance and health behaviors among Ojibwe adults by way of community-based participatory research (CBPR). During the proposed funding period, we plan to further develop current research partnerships between two Ojibwe reservation communities and a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. From within these partnerships, the proposed work includes a mixed-methods investigation of the expression and prevalence depression and other mental health problems, including substance use, among Ojibwe adults suffering from T2D. The ultimate goal of this project is to obtain preliminary data and create a foundation for continued CBPR projects and future funding applications, including the creation of culturally-specific, empirically-based treatment and intervention programs. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research addresses community-based concerns regarding inattention to mental health and substance use factors thought to be related to chronic disease (type 2 diabetes) management and treatment noncompliance among a single cultural group of North American Indigenous adults in two reservation communities. This research aims to investigate the expression and prevalence of the burden of mental illness in these and other Indigenous communities among those also suffering with comorbid diabetes. This research will address comorbid mental health and diabetes issues that are currently under-examined and/or overlooked in these Indigenous communities and in the American Indian-specific literature.