Table 1. Research on Prevention and Intervention
Reference Title Sample size (N) Methods and
Methodologies Aboriginal Participation/Representation Baydala et
al., 2008
A culturally adapted drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for
Aboriginal children and youth.
For questionnaire:
N= 17 Aboriginal children
For workshop:
N= 43 total (30 community members, 9 Elders, 4 researchers)
For focus groups:
N= 14 total (8 school personnel, 6 Elders)
Community-based participatory research,
questionnaire, focus groups.
All participants were recruited from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation.
Fuchs et al., 2010
Children with FASD- related disabilities receiving services from child welfare agencies in Manitoba.
N= 1869 child data records
Data analysis of child welfare records, literature review.
81% of children with FASD in care in Manitoba were reported as First Nations (Treaty Indian), 9% were Métis, and 4% were identified as non-status Aboriginal.
The remainder were identified as non- Aboriginal (5%) or not known (1%).
George et al., 2007
Bridging the research gap: Aboriginal and academic collaboration in FASD prevention: The Healthy Communities, Mothers and Children Project (HCMC).
N= 4 communities Participatory action research.
Academic researchers worked with members from four geographically distinct Aboriginal communities. The names of the communities were not reported.
Leenaars et al., 2011
The impact of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders on families: evaluation of a family intervention program.
N= 186 families (raising at least one child with FASD)
Surveys and rating scales.
18% of families were reported as First Nations.
Massoti et al., 2003
Urban FASD interventions: bridging the gap between Aboriginal women and primary care physicians.
N/A Literature review. N/A
Massoti et al., 2006
Preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in Aboriginal communities: a methods development project.
N= 4 communities Participatory action research.
Four communities, broadly identified as Aboriginal, in Ontario and British Columbia participated.
Table 1. Research on Prevention and Intervention (continued)
Reference Title Sample size (N) Methodologies Aboriginal Participation/Representation Niccols et
al., 2009
Treatment issues for Aboriginal mothers with substance use problems and their children.
N/A Literature review. N/A
Rutman &
Van Bibber, 2010
Parenting with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
N= 59 total participants Adults with FASD (n= 15)
Support people (n=8) Service providers (n= 36)
Semi-structured face-to-face interviews.
66% of adults with FASD were reported as Aboriginal. No Indigenous participants were reported amongst support people or service providers interviewed.
Salmon, 2003
‘It takes a community’: constructing Aboriginal mothers and children with FAS/FAE as objects of moral panic in/through a FAS/FAE prevention policy.
N/A Literature review
and content analysis of the First Nations and Inuit FAS/ FAE Initiative report:
“It Takes a Community”
N/A
Salmon, 2007a
Dis/abling states, dis/abling
citizenship: young Aboriginal mothers and the medicalization of fetal alcohol syndrome.
N= 6 urban Aboriginal mothers affected by substance use and FAS/FAE
Semi-structured group interviews.
All women who participated in this research were self-identified Aboriginal mothers. Five of the six participants held "Registered Indian"
status.
Salmon, 2007b
Adaptation and decolonization: the role of ‘culturally appropriate’ health education in the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome.
N= 6 urban Aboriginal mothers affected by substance use and FAS/FAE
Content analysis, Semi-structured group interviews.
All women who participated in this research were self-identified Aboriginal mothers. Five of the six participants held "Registered Indian"
status.
Salmon, 2011
Aboriginal mothering, FASD
prevention and the contestations of neoliberal citizenship.
N/A Literature review. N/A
Tough et al., 2007
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder prevention approaches among Canadian physicians by proportion of Native / Aboriginal patients: practices during the preconception and prenatal periods.
N= 4313 physicians Questionnaire. None.
Table 2. Clinical Research
Reference Title Sample size (N) Ages Aboriginal Participation/Representation Carr et al.,
2010
Sensory processing and adaptive behavior deficits of children across the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
continuum.
N= 46 total pFAS (n=15) ARND (n=16) PEA (n=16) No control group
3-14 yrs 89 % of participants were identified as Aboriginal.
Engle &
Kerns, 2011
Reinforcement learning in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
N= 36 total FASD (n=18) Control (n=18)
11-17 yrs
50% of children with FASD were reported as Aboriginal. No Indigenous children were reported to be in the control group.
Lebel et al., 2008
Brain diffusion abnormalities in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
N= 119 total FASD (n= 24) Control (n=95)
5-13 yrs 30% of children in the FASD group were reported as Aboriginal. No Aboriginal children were reported to be in the control group.
Loomes et al., 2008
The effect of rehearsal training on working memory span of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
N= 33 total FASD (n=33) No control group
4 -11 yrs 60% of children in the FASD group were reported as Aboriginal.
Nardelli et al., 2011
Extensive deep gray matter volume reductions in children and adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
N= 84 total FASD (n=28) Control (n=56)
6-17 yrs 30% of children in the FASD group were reported as Aboriginal. No Aboriginal children were reported to be in the control group.
Rasmussen
& Bisanz, 2009
Executive functioning in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: profiles and age-related differences.
N= 29 total FASD (n=29) No control group
8-16 yrs 65% of children in the FASD group were identified as First Nations.
The author’s report that participants were recruited from First Nations communities but do not specify how.
Table 2. Clinical Research (continued)
Reference Title Sample size (N) Ages Aboriginal Participation/Representation Rasmussen
& Bisanz, 2010
The relation between mathematics and working memory in young children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
N= 41 total FASD (n=21) Control (n=20)
4-6 yrs 76% of children in the FASD group were reported as Aboriginal. One child was identified as Aboriginal in the control group.
The author’s report that participants were recruited from First Nations communities but do not specify how.
Rasmussen et al., 2006
Neurobehavioral functioning in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
N= 50 total FASD (n=50) No control group
6-15 yrs 70% of children in the FASD group were identified as Aboriginal.
Zhou et al., 2011
Developmental cortical thinning in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
N= 38 total FASD (n=38) No control group
6-30 yrs 30% of child participants were reported as Aboriginal.
Table 3. Epidemiological Research
Reference Title
Sample size (N),
# Cases (%), Prevalence2/ Incidence3
Methodology Location
Asante &
Nelms-Matzke, 1985
Survey of children with chronic handicaps and fetal alcohol syndrome in the Yukon and British Columbia.
N= 391 Native children (sic) Number of children with FAS:
n=166 (42.5%) Prevalence:
46/1000 for Yukon Natives (sic) 25/1000 for NW BC Natives (sic) Incidence not available.
Questionnaire, clinical screening.
36 communities in Yukon and northwest British Columbia.
Bray &
Anderson, 1989
Appraisal of the epidemiology of fetal alcohol syndrome among Canadian native peoples.
N= 3 papers Literature review. N/A
Burd & Moffat, 1994
Epidemiology of fetal alcohol syndrome in American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Canadian Aboriginal Peoples: a review of the literature.
N= 10 papers
Prevalence: 2.8-6.6/1000 Incidence not available
Literature review. Reviewed 3 studies from the province of British Columbia (Asante & Nelms- Matzke, 1985; Robinson et al, 1987;
Wong, unpublished study), and 7 studies from the United States.
Godel et al., 1992
Smoking and caffeine and alcohol intake during pregnancy in a northern population: effect on fetal growth.
N= 162 women
Number of women drinking during pregnancy:
Inuit: n=56 (35%) Indian: n=38 (24%) White: n=37 (23%) Mixed race: n=31 (19%) Prevalence not available.
Incidence not available.
Questionnaire. 10 communities in the western region of the Northwest Territories including Inuvik.
The authors report that ethnicity “was determined through self-identification and the use of a medical number that
identified registered natives.”
The terms Indian and Mixed Race were not defined.
Table 3. Epidemiological Research (continued)
Reference Title
Sample size (N),
# Cases (%), Prevalence2/ Incidence3
Methodology Location
Kowlessar, 1997
An examination of the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on school-age children in a Manitoba First Nation’s community: a study of fetal alcohol syndrome prevalence and dysmorphology.
N= 178 children
Number of children with FAS or pFAS: n=18 (10%)
Prevalence: 51-101/1000
Interviews, clinical screening.
First Nation community in Manitoba.
Note: Community engagement reported;
two local Aboriginal workers were hired and trained to coordinate the work in accordance with the band council’s directives.
Muckle et al., 2011
Alcohol, smoking, and drug use among Inuit women of
childbearing age during pregnancy and the risk to children.
N= 208 women
Number of women drinking during pregnancy: n=130 (61%)
Prevalence not available.
Incidence not available.
Structured interviews.
Nunavik.
Robinson et al., 1987
Clinical profile and prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome in an isolated community in British Columbia.
N= 45 mothers; 116 children Number of women drinking during pregnancy: n=54 (47%)
Number of children with FAE: n=0
FASD: n=22 (19%).
Prevalence: 190/1000.
Incidence not available.
Interview with the mothers, clinical screening. For FAS.
First Nation community in Canim Lake, British Columbia.
Williams, et al., 1999
Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome in Northeastern Manitoba.
N= 745 children
Number of children with FAS:
n=5 (1%)
Prevalence not available.
Incidence: 7.2/1000
Clinical screening for FAS.
22 communities (cities, towns, and reserves) from the 54th to 60th parallel in Northern Manitoba.
2. Prevalence data measures the total number of cases of disease in a population.
3. Incidence data measures the rate of occurrence of new cases.
Table 4. Summary of Agency Health Reports
Authors/Title (in order of publication date) Objective(s) Organization(s)/Funding FAS/FAE Technical Working Group, 1997. It
takes a community: framework for the First Nations and Inuit fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects initiative - A resource manual for community-based prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects.
Develop, implement and evaluate a framework for a First Nations and Inuit FAS/FAE initiative.
FAS/FAE Technical Working Group represents the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, and the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada.
Funded by Health Canada Tait, 2000. Aboriginal Identity and the
Construction of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Review the production of knowledge about FAS and the implications to Aboriginal people in Canada.
Proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute on Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples.
Van Bibber, 1997. It takes a community: a resource manual for community-based
prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects.
Review community-based approaches to FAS/E prevention and intervention.
Provide strategies to help First Nation and Inuit communities design, develop, and deliver their own community-based prevention and intervention strategies.
Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada.
Funded by Health Canada.
Leslie & Roberts, 2001. Enhancing fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)-related interventions at the prenatal and early childhood stages in Canada.
Identify gaps in community-based programs for FAS.
Review best practices for FAS intervention.
Provide recommendations to facilitate training and program development across Health Canada projects.
Develop a national advisory committee.
Create a database of FAS-related resources, knowledge and training.
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Health Canada's
Community Action Program for Children.
Funded by Health Canada, the Solicitor General and through its own revenue-generating efforts.
Tait, 2003. Fetal alcohol syndrome among aboriginal people in Canada: review and analysis of the intergenerational links to residential schools.
Identify barriers and gaps in services that prevent the
implementation of ‘best practices’ for FAS/ARBE prevention, identification and intervention proposed by Health Canada.
Funded by The Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
Fuchs et al., 2005. Children with disabilities receiving services from child welfare agencies in Manitoba.
Create and deliver profile information of children with disabilities receiving services from child and family services agencies in Manitoba for all levels of the service delivery system to meet the needs of children with disabilities.
Funded by Health Canada with the support of the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare.
Table 4. Summary of Agency Health Reports (continued)
Authors/Title (in order of publication date) Objective(s) Organization(s)/Funding Buell et al., 2006. Fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder: environmental scan of services and gaps in Inuit communities.
Conduct an environmental scan of services available in Inuit communities to identify gaps and Inuit-specific concerns.
Conduct a literature review of mainstream and Inuit-specific resources on FASD to identify best practices for prevention and intervention.
Ajunnginiq Centre at the National Aboriginal Health Organization and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
Funded by Health Canada and the National Aboriginal Health Organization.
Clinesmith, 2007. Healthy choices in pregnancy for Aboriginal Peoples in British Columbia: An analysis and recommendations.
Review intervention programs for women currently available in British Columbia.
Provide best practices for developing an Aboriginal-specific
“Healthy Choices in Pregnancy” program.
Aboriginal Act Now BC Initiative.
Funded by the BC provincial government.
Pak’tnkek First Nation Health, 2008.
Developing Sustainable Early Intervention Services in CMM Communities in Nova Scotia.
Report on the outcomes of a pilot project to bring early intervention services to children with disabilities and their families in Paq’tnkek First Nation.
Provide recommendations to assist other First Nation
communities who seek to acquire services across jurisdictional boundaries.
Paq’tnkek First Nation and The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM).
Funded by First Nations and Inuit Health.
UNICEF Canada, 2009. Canadian supplement to “The state of the world’s children”, Aboriginal children’s health: leaving no child behind.
Report on the health status of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children.
Identify jurisdictional hurdles in accessing health care services by children in these communities.
Provide recommendations for addressing the health inequalities of Aboriginal children in Canada.
UNICEF Canada, The National Collaborating Centre for
Aboriginal Health, University of Northern British Columbia.
Funded by private donations to UNICEF.
Salmon & Clarren, 2011. Developing effective, culturally appropriate avenues to FASD
diagnosis and prevention in northern Canada.
Describe two research initiatives undertaken by members of the Canada Northwest FASD Research Network to improve the diagnosis and prevention of FASD in northern Canadian communities.
Provide recommendations on ways to support multi-directional capacity building in FASD diagnosis and prevention.
Canada Northwest FASD Research Network.