The Indian Family Wellness Project: An Application of the Tribal Participatory Research Model

Four mechanisms of tribal participatory research are presented, how they have been applied in the IFW project are described, and the implications of this work for the field of family-centered prevention research are considered.

Abstract

This paper describes a family-centered prevention intervention for preschool-aged children-the Indian Family Wellness (IFW) project. The development, implementation, and evaluation of IFW has been based upon a tribal participatory research model, an approach that emphasizes full participation of tribes and tribal members in all phases of the research process and incorporates cultural and historical factors vital to strengthening American Indian and Alaska Native families. We present four mechanisms of tribal participatory research, describe how they have been applied in the IFW project, and consider the implications of this work for the field of family-centered prevention research.