A scoping study of cultural interventions to treat addictions in Indigenous populations: methods, strategies and insights from a Two-Eyed Seeing approach Rowan et al.

A scoping study of cultural interventions to treat addictions in Indigenous populations: methods, strategies and insights from a Two-Eyed Seeing approach Rowan et al.
Rowan et al. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy (2015) 10:26 DOI 10.1186/s13011-015-0021-6

Rowan et al. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy (2015) 10:26 DOI 10.1186/s13011-015-0021-6
METHODOLOGY Open Access
A scoping study of cultural interventions to treat addictions in Indigenous populations: methods, strategies and insights from a Two-Eyed Seeing approach
Margo Rowan1, Nancy Poole2, Beverley Shea3, David Mykota4, Marwa Farag5, Carol Hopkins6, Laura Hall1, Christopher Mushquash7, Barbara Fornssler1 and Colleen Anne Dell1*Abstract
Background: This paper describes the methods, strategies and insights gained from a scoping study using a “Two-Eyed Seeing” approach. An evolving technique, Two-Eyed Seeing respects and integrates the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and Western sciences, often “weaving back and forth” between the two worldviews. The scoping study was used to inform a tool for measuring the impact of culturally based addictions treatment services on wellness in Indigenous populations. It formed part of a three-year study, Honouring Our Strengths: Indigenous Culture as Intervention in Addictions Treatment. The scoping study identified and mapped literature on cultural interventions in addictions treatment, and described the nature, extent and gaps in literature.
Methods: Using a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, we adapted, applied and enhanced a common framework of scoping studies. In the end stage of the scoping review process, an Ad Hoc Review Group, led by our project Elder, reviewed and interpreted Indigenous and Western understandings within the mapped information. Elements of the scoping study were joined with results from community focus groups with staff at treatment centres.
Results: Two-Eyed Seeing contributed differently at each stage of the scoping study. In early stages, it clarified team expertise and potential contributions. At the mid-point, it influenced our shift from a systematic to a scoping review. Near the end, it incorporated Western and Indigenous knowledge to interpret and synthesize evidence from multiple sources.
Conclusions: This paper adds to the collective work on augmenting the methodology of scoping studies. Despite the challenges of a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, it enables researchers using scoping studies to develop knowledge that is better able to translate into meaningful findings for Indigenous communities.
Keywords: First Nations, Cultural interventions, Addictions, Indigenous, Treatment interventions, Scoping study, Systematic review, Two-Eyed Seeing
Background This paper describes the methods, strategies and insights gained from bringing a “Two-Eyed Seeing” [1, 2] approach to a scoping study of the literature on Indigenous cultural interventions in addictions treatment. This research is part of a three year study, Honouring Our Strengths: Indigenous
* Correspondence: colleen.dell@usask.ca 1Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan, 1109 – 9 Campus Drive, Saskatoon S7N 5A5, SK, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
© 2015 Rowan et al. This is an Open Access a (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), provided the original work is properly credited creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Culture as Intervention in Addiction Treatment, concern- ing the use of cultural interventions to support healing within addictions treatment of Indigenous people. The goal of the overall study was to develop an instrument to measure the impact of culturally based addictions treat- ment services on client wellness. The overall project uses several methods involving individuals with community- based wisdom to ensure that Indigenous ways of knowing are central to the study. The scoping study section was de- signed to identify publications on cultural interventions in
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