Tailoring an Alcohol Intervention for American Indian Alaska Native Women of Childbearing Age: Listening to the Community

Abstract

Background: Reduction of risky drinking in women of childbearing age is 1 strategy that may be employed to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a sequela of prenatal alcohol exposure. Communities differ in risk and protective factors, necessitating culturally informed interventions for maximal efficacy. This article describes the modification of an existing web-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment intervention to reduce risky drinking among American Indian Alaska Native (AIAN) women of childbearing age in Southern California into a peer-to-peer-based intervention using motivational interviewing (MI).

Methods: The modification process was iterative and included various community focus groups, interviews, and a final review.

Results: Intervention modification was required for cultural congruence. Components of the peer-to-peer intervention designed by this project included a flip chart used to guide the motivational interviewing, charts of the financial and physical costs of alcohol consumption, revised baseline and follow-up questionnaires, and guidance regarding the application of MI techniques.

Conclusions: This study may inform the modification of future interventions among AIAN communities.

Keywords: Alcohol; American Indian Alaska Native; Brief Intervention; Cultural Congruence; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders; Prevention Research; Screening; Women; and Referral to Treatment.