ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2019
Partnering with Indigenous Elders in primary care improves mental health outcomes of inner-city Indigenous patients: Prospective cohort study.
Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of Indigenous involvement and content in mental health interventions and their effectiveness for Indigenous populations.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Health care through an Indigenous lens: insights from a university hospital photovoice study.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026Article
- Non-Indigenous Public Health Educators' Readiness to Engage With Aboriginal Elders and Knowledge-Holders: A Baseline Study Informing Indigenous-Led Consultation.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026Article
- British Columbia Children's Hospital Compass Program: Extending mental health supports for rural Northern communities.PloS one · 2026Article
- Screening depression and anxiety in Indigenous peoples: A global scoping review.Transcultural psychiatry · 2025Article
- The living experience of First Nations Peoples and Forensic Mental Health systems: listening to the deep stories behind the numbers.Psychiatry, psychology, and law : an interdisciplinary journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law · 2025Article
- Perceptions of provider awareness of traditional and cultural treatments among Indigenous people who use unregulated drugs in Vancouver, Canada.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Structural racism and violence: Routine healthcare access in a cohort of marginalized Indigenous women and Two-Spirit Peoples during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Research square · 2023Article
- Prevalence and Social-Structural Correlates of Gender-Based Violence Against Women Living With HIV in Metro Vancouver, Canada.Journal of interpersonal violence · 2023Article
- Linking Heart Health and Mental Wellbeing: Centering Indigenous Perspectives from across Canada.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Five ways to get a grip on the need to include clinical placements in Indigenous settings.Canadian medical education journal · 2022Article
- Patient ethnicity and cascade genetic testing: a descriptive study of a publicly funded hereditary cancer program.Familial cancer · 2022Article
- Culturally safe interventions in primary care for the management of chronic diseases of urban Indigenous People: a scoping review.Family medicine and community health · 2022Article
- Identifying priorities, directions and a vision for Indigenous mental health using a collaborative and consensus-based facilitation approach.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Association between intergenerational solidarity involving elders and mental health of Indigenous people living off reserve.BMC public health · 2022Article
- The Efficacy of a Health Promotion Intervention for Indigenous Women: Reclaiming Our Spirits.Journal of interpersonal violence · 2021Article
- Indigenous-led health care partnerships in Canada.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2020Article
- "All my relations": experiences and perceptions of Indigenous patients connecting with Indigenous Elders in an inner city primary care partnership for mental health and well-being.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2018Article
- State of traditional healing from the perspective of cultural support: Developing clinical relationships through research.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadienArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine whether including Indigenous Elders as part of routine primary care improves depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in Indigenous patients.
designProspective cohort study with quantitative measures at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months postintervention, along with emergency department (ED) utilization rates before and after the intervention.
settingWestern Canadian inner-city primary care clinic.
participantsA total of 45 people who were older than age 18, who self-identified as Indigenous, and who had no previous visits with the clinic-based Indigenous Elders program.
interventionParticipants met with an Indigenous Elder as part of individual or group cultural sessions over the 6-month study period.
main outcome measuresChanges in depressive symptoms, measured with the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire), following Indigenous patients' encounters with Indigenous Elders. Secondary outcomes included changes in suicide risk (measured with the SBQ-R [Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised]) and ED use.
resultsCharacteristics among those who consented to participate were as follows: 71% were female; mean age was 49 years; 31% had attended residential or Indian day school; and 64% had direct experience in the foster care system. At baseline 28 participants had moderate to severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score of ≥ 10). There was a 5-point decrease that was sustained over a 6-month period (
conclusionEncounters with Indigenous Elders, as part of routine primary care, were associated with a clinically and statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms and suicide risk among Indigenous patients. Emergency department use decreased, which might reduce crisis-oriented mental health care costs. Further expansion and evaluation of the role of Indigenous Elders as part of routine primary care is warranted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
30979762PMC6467659W2944565553What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.