Mental health needs assessment of Tucson's urban Native American population

Abstract

This report presents the design, implementation, and results of a 1992 mental health needs assessment of Tucson's urban American Indians. The study was conducted under the auspices of the Traditional Indian Alliance (TIA) of Greater Tucson, Inc. TIA is a community-based, non-profit corporation committed to addressing the health and social welfare issues of Tucson's American Indians. As a result of having provided health and social services since 1974, TIA recognized that there were many unmet needs for culturally sensitive American Indian mental health programs. The organization established a goal of assessing the mental health needs of Tucson's urban American Indians in order to obtain the information needed to enhance program development and the provision of services. This survey was conducted in order for Traditional Indian Alliance to enhance its mental health program development and improve the provision of mental health services to Tucson's urban American Indians. The specific objectives of this study on Tucson's urban American Indian population included documentation of (a) the nature of socioeconomic problems that might have a psychological effect, (b) the existence of psychological distress, and (c) the types of available support systems and their utilization.