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Alcohol use among Indian/Alaskan Native Women

Introduction:

Indian/Alaskan Native women have the highest mortality rates related to alcoholism. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse is a leading killer of Alaskan Native women. The role of recent heavy drinking of alcohol as a risk factor for ischemic brain infarction in young adult Alaskan Native women is clear. The role of alcohol in Alaskan Native women is rooted within complex historical, cultural, political, and economic processes. The resolution of these problems must reflect a deep understanding of such processes. Native alcohol problems emerged and continue to emerge through a collision of context and person. Ethanol consumption is harmful to the fetus the woman is carrying. Alcohol drinking, particularly drinking for intoxication, can trigger the onset of brain infarction in young adults and have dire effects in later life. For birth years 1995-1999, Fetal Alcohol syndrome (FAS) prevalence among Alaska Natives was approximately 5 per 1,000 live births – more than 15 times that of Caucasians. The old view was that the "placental barrier" protected the fetus from contaminants in the mother's body. Recent research has shown this to be false; in fact, the Human Toxome Project found that ten out of ten newborns whose umbilical cord blood was tested on their day of birth were found to be contaminated with scores of chemicals. These numerous chemicals were linked to brain and nervous system toxicity and cancer. To date, one out of 20 children entering ninth grade in Alaska will have a college degree 10 years later, giving the state one of the worst postsecondary education rates in the nation. Alaska's efforts to improve the dropout problem over the past decade have also sunk. More than one in three ninth-graders will leave school before getting a diploma. These results from a new state study released this year show a faltering Alaska education system. Alaska is last in the number of college freshmen receiving a bachelor's degree within 150 percent of the normal program length. The reports cites grim statistics about how high school dropouts are more likely to end up in prison, have poor health or seek state public assistance.

The goal is to create a Healing Forest that creates a synergy between personal and community wellness. Such a synergy is reflected in the words of Andy Chelsea, who as the Shuswap tribal chief at Alkali Lake, declared, "The community is the treatment center" (Abbott, 1998).

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT


 * Commitment: culturally framed rationales for radical abstinence and a call for sobriety and sacrifice to a higher purpose than self (the People).
 * Purification: rituals of physical and emotional detoxification (fasting, purging, sweating, herbal medicines) and spiritual connection (vision quests).
 * Substitution: replacement of alcohol with other sacred substances, e.g., the "Black Drink," peyote, tobacco, sage, and cedar.
 * Identity: affirmation of personal and cultural identity ¾ connection with ancestral traditions and innate knowledge (the ancestors within).
 * Reconciliation: mending of family and social relationships.
 * Prescriptions for living: a reconstruction of values and daily lifestyle (e.g., the Code of Handsome Lake, Peyote Way, the Red Road).
 * Re-connection to community: sustained affiliation with a stable network of recovering people supported by a larger cultural community.
 * Ceremony: participation in rituals that solidify pro-recovery values and relationships.
 * Story: the transmission of life-changing ideas through the ancient oral tradition of storytelling.
 * Meaning: a worldview of oneself and one's sobriety within the context of Native history, culture, and religion.

I ENJOYED READING THIS ARTICLE AND HAVE NO MAJOR CRITIQUES FOR IT. MY ONLY COMMENT IS THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE REFERS TO INDIAN/ALASKAN WOMEN HOWEVER THE ARTICLE COVERS A MUCH BROADER RANGE OF SUBJECTS.

REFERENCES:

Abbott, P.J. (1998). Traditional and western healing practices for alcoholism in American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Substance Use and Misuse 33(13): 2605-2646. Coyhis, D. (1990). Recovery from the Heart: A Journey through the Twelve Steps: A Workbook for Native Americans. Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden. Hall, R. (1985). Distribution of the sweat lodge in alcohol treatment programs. Current Anthropology, 26(1): 134-135.

Examined the relationship among drug and alcohol use before intercourse, nonuse of birth control methods, and unplanned pregnancies (PRs) in 43 14-21 yr olds with unplanned PRs. Survey responses revealed that lack of knowledge of personal susceptibility to PR, norms and values that tolerate unmarried PR, social supports that do not necessarily advocate contraceptive use, intrapsychic conflict toward PR, and situational factors (e.g., alcohol and drug use) may have contributed to PR risk-taking. . (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)

Alcohol use as a situational influence on young women's pregnancy risk-taking behaviors. Flanigan, Beverly; McLean, Ann; Hall, Chris; Adolescence, Vol 25(97), Spr 1990. pp. 205-214. [Journal Article]

One of the most severe effects of drinking during pregnancy is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is a group of problems that can include Mental retardation Birth defects Abnormal facial features Growth problems Problems with the central nervous system Trouble remembering and/or learning Vision or hearing problems Behavior problems FAS lasts for a lifetime. There is no cure. Special school services can help with learning problems. Routines and consistency at home may help with behavior problems. Women can prevent FAS and other problems related to alcohol use by not drinking when they are pregnant or might get pregnant.

9/2/1997 R and R2 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Prevalence, Risk Factors, Prevention) http://www.epi.alaska.gov/ http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/rr97v1_02.pdf

Alcoholism Among Alaskan Women
American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest rates of binge drinking. They face higher rates of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis from drinking. They have higher rates of drinking and driving and alcohol-related fatal crashes compared to the general population. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a problem for American Indians/Natives.

REFERENCE:

http://www.womenshealth.gov/minority/AmericanIndian/alcoholism.cfm

Four Articles:

When you are pregnant, your baby grows inside you. Everything you eat and drink while you are pregnant affects your baby. If you drink alcohol, it can hurt your baby's growth. Your baby may have physical and behavioral problems that can last for the rest of his or her life. 11/2/1998	R and R	3	The Educational Attainment of Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/rr98v2_03.pdf Children born with the most serious problems caused by alcohol have fetal alcohol syndrome. 12/29/1993	Bulletin	39	OB/GYN Survey on FAS and Alcohol

http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/rr98v2_03.pdf

Alcohol abuse is a serious public health concern. Alcohol is a potent teratogen, a substance that can damage a developing fetus. There is no known safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy, so pregnant women or women who may become pregnant. 1/8/1993	Bulletin	3	Preliminary Report of Pediatrician Survey Regarding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/rr98v2_03.pdf

Four websites: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/ http://www.nofas.org/living/strategy.aspx http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/159_530.asp http://www.fasdcenter.samhsa.gov/documents/WYNK_Preventing_FASD.pdf

Alaska Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Surveillance Project (FASSP), 1995-1997 Data: State of Alaska, DHSS, DPH.

Demer, Lisa, April 12, 2008). "Mental Health System Feels Strain". Anchorage Daily News: A1.

Fetal Alcohol Surveillance System Network (FASSNet), 1995-1997 Data in: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fetal Alcohol syndrome - Alaska, arizona, Colorado, and New York, 1995-1997. MMWR: 51 (20):433-435. 2002

9/2/1997 R and R2 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Prevalence, Risk Factors, Prevention) http://www.epi.alaska.gov/ http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/rr97v1_02.pdf

Healthy People 2010. U.S. Department of health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With understanding and improving health and objectices for improving health. 2 Vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2000

Streissguth AP. The behavioral Teratology of Alcohol: Perfances, Behavioral and Intellectual Deficits in Prenatally Exposed Children. Alcohol and Brain Development. J. W., Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. 1986

Stresissguth AP. Barr HM. Kogan J. Bookstein FL. Understanding the Occurrence of Secondary Disabilities in clients with Fetal Alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), Final Report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seattle: University of Washington, Fetal Alcohol & Drug Unit. Tech. Rep. No. 96-06, (1996)

Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Ecoomic Costs of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse in Alaska. Phase Two. Juneau: McDowell Group 2001.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=107&sid=1151c509-9f31-40c8-acce-88c004d124f8%40sessionmgr9&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh&AN=2002-04127-003

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre/ch4_need_mental_health.asp

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