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Utilizing drumming for American Indians/Alaska Natives with substance use disorders: a focus group study
Daniel Dickerson1, Francis Robichaud, Cheryl Teruya
1Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) , Los Angeles, CA 90025–7535, USA. daniel.dickerson@ucla.edu
Background:
Drumming has been utilized among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes for centuries to promote healing and self-expression. Drum-Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans (DARTNA), currently under development, is a substance abuse treatment utilizing drumming as a core component.
Objectives:
Focus groups were conducted to assist in the development of the DARTNA protocol. Feedback obtained from these focus groups will inform a subsequent pretest of DARTNA and an empirical study analyzing its effectiveness.
Methods:
Three focus groups were conducted among AIs/ANs with substance use disorders (n = 6), substance abuse treatment providers (n = 8), and a community advisory board (n = 4) to solicit feedback prior to a pretest of the DARTNA protocol.
Results:
Overall, participants indicated that DARTNA could be beneficial for AIs/ANs with substance use disorders. Four overarching conceptual themes emerged across the focus groups: (1) benefits of drumming, (2) importance of a culture-based focus, (3) addressing gender roles in drumming activities, and (4) providing a foundation of common AI/AN traditions.
Conclusions:
The DARTNA protocol is a potentially beneficial and culturally appropriate substance abuse treatment strategy for AIs/ANs. In order to optimize the potential benefits of a substance abuse treatment protocol utilizing drumming for AIs/ANs, adequate attention to tribal diversity and gender roles is needed.
Scientific Significance:
Due to the shortage of substance abuse treatments utilizing traditional healing activities for AIs/ANs, including drumming, results from this study provide an opportunity to develop an intervention that may meet the unique treatment needs of AIs/ANs.
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