Drum & Sash

Development of a Rural Model for Integrated Shared Care in First Nation and Métis (SASH) Communities

First Nation and Métis Communities Working in Partnership to Develop Shared Care Models for HIV and other STBBI

Our team works with communities of different Indigenous cultures and in different regions, supporting each other as we improve HIV, Hepatitis C and other STBBI prevention and care services within a shared care model for First Nation and Métis communities.

With funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) HIV/AIDS Implementation Science Component 1 (Adaptation) grant and additional funding from the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN), we are building upon ten years of previous work with theAboriginal Community Resilience to HIV/AIDS (ACRA)project through continued partnership with three Northern Alberta First Nation communities. DRUM is culturally grounded, community-led and based on identified strengths. We are working together to develop, test and evaluate a shared-care model (SCM) for HIV, Hepatitis C and other STBBI prevention and care services on-reserve that can be adapted for other communities.

“Better health/wellbeing outcomes for those living with HIV and those vulnerable to HIV in First Nation and Métis communities through the integration of culturally-grounded, resiliency-based mental health and wellness, hepatitis C (HCV) and sexually transmitted and blood borne infection (STBBI) prevention, testing, treatment and care in community- adapted models for shared care.”

We began with a community readiness approach to learn where people were at in each community when it comes to addressing sexual health and STBBI prevention and treatment. Through our work together on DRUM, we have learned there is promise in our approach, and opportunity to expand our work.

The DRUM & SASH project is a CIHR funded study which aims to develop, implement and evaluate shared care models to increase care and prevention of HIV, Hepatitis C, other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) and related mental health issues in Indigenous communities in Alberta.

Shared care models are agreements between communities (often rural) and clinics (often urban) to manage the care of individuals in community.

DRUM & SASH is partnered with Tallcree, Driftpile, and Sucker Creek communities in the north, Stoney Nation and Blood Tribe in the south, as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta through Shining Mountains Living Community Services.

DRUM & SASH builds off of the work done with the three northern communities in DRUM 1 (Development of a Rural Model for HIV/HCV/STBBI), and previously, the ACRA project (Aboriginal Community Youth Resilience to HIV and AIDS AND OTHER BBIs), which represents over 10 years of work related to HIV. ​​

The team members include researchers and knowledge users from CAAN (Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network), The University of Victoria, and the University of Saskatchewan.

Our team will continue our work with communities of different Indigenous cultures and in different regions, supporting each other as we improve HIV, Hepatitis C and other STBBI prevention and care services within a shared care model for First Nation and Métis communities.