ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To develop a culturally-tailored American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women's Facebook group supporting opioid recovery as an adjunct to medication. DESIGN: Community-based, qualitative approach. SETTING: Minnesota, U.S. PARTICIPANTS: AI/AN women in opioid recovery, interested parties, and a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) of AI/AN women with lived experience, health care providers, and community members. INTERVENTION: We developed evidence-based content focusing on stress/trauma and substance use, mindfulness, responding to triggers, and supportive community resources. Additional content centered on AI/AN culture was also selected. METHOD: Interviews were conducted by two women, then transcribed and coded using content analysis with NVivo software. Results were presented to CAC for further content refinement. RESULTS: CAC members (n = 10) guided study methods, intervention development, and dissemination activities. 14 AI/AN women (mean age 36.4 years; mean 6.7 months opioid abstinence) and 12 interested parties (7 men, 5 women) were receptive to an AI/AN gender-specific Facebook group, preferring content with AI/AN people and/or text resonating with AI/AN culture (e.g., Native traditions, family, personal stories, historical trauma). Recommendations included (1) protect confidentiality, (2) retain positivity, (3) incorporate resources and exercises to build coping skills, and (4) moderators should be authentic and relatable to build trust. CONCLUSIONS: Our approach provides a model for developing culturally tailored, appealing and effective social media interventions to support AI/AN women in recovery from opioid use disorder.
Subject(s)
American Indian or Alaska Native , Opioid-Related Disorders , Social Media , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Advisory Committees , Alaska Natives , Analgesics, Opioid , Opioid-Related Disorders/ethnology , Opioid-Related Disorders/rehabilitation , Opioid-Related Disorders/therapy , Qualitative ResearchABSTRACT
The presence of Mycobacterium lepromatosis and Mycobacterium leprae in Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris, ERS) carcasses throughout the British Isles, and leprosy as a disease, have recently been reported using histological and molecular diagnostic methods. In 2016, the first longitudinal study of ERS affected by leprosy was initiated. One of the main challenges was the reliable diagnosis of leprosy in live ERS, which is important for (a) welfare and case management and (b) surveillance or pretranslocation screening efforts. We explored diagnostic methods ranging from detailed clinical assessment and informative categorization of observed lesions, thermal imaging, serology (antiphenolic glycolipid-I antibody [αPGL-I] detection) to molecular methods (polymerase chain reaction [PCR]). For PCR the ear was established as the optimal sampling site. Based on the experiences from this 2-yr study we propose an objective categorization system for clinical lesions and a diagnostic framework for the combination of the diagnostic tools we found to be effective in live ERS: clinical assessment, αPGL-I serology, and PCR. Thermal imaging did not offer additional information for leprosy diagnostics in ERS. We propose an amended definition of leprosy lesions in ERS as "skin areas of local hair loss, in which a firm-rubbery, glossy swelling develops, that may ulcerate" and standardized terminology for describing ERS leprosy status. The information presented forms the basis of a consistent, reliable diagnostic and reporting system for leprosy cases in ERS.
