# Healing From Within: Identifying and Understanding the Intersecting Barriers to Help-seeking After Experiences of Violence for Wisconsin American Indian Women Through Survivor-led Research

> **NIH NIH S06** · GREAT LAKES INTER-TRIBAL COUNCIL, INC. · 2022 · $104,176

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Indigenous women experience gender-based violence (GBV) at disproportionately high rates, contributing to
devastating impacts to health and wellbeing including substance misuse and mental health disorders. Our
understanding of the complex, intersecting health needs of Indigenous women who experience co-occurring
substance misuse, mental health,and GBV on reservation-based and urban areas in the Midwest is limited.
Additionally, the services available toaddress these issues are siloed and ineffective in meeting the needs of
Indigenous women. To address this urgent gap, we propose a pilot study that uses a mixed-methods and
community engaged approach to identify and understand barriers to help-seeking among Indigenous women
with co-occurring mental health and/or substance use disorders after experiences of gender-based violence, and
to understand how resiliency and cultural identity may help to motivate help-seeking among Indigenous women
survivors of GBV in the localcontext of Wisconsin. This proposed pilot study is the first of its kind in Wisconsin
by being Indigenous led, andthrough the formation of academic community partnerships between universities, 3
of Wisconsin’s 11 federally recognized tribes, Indigenous-led organizations, and tribal community leaders across
the State. First, a community advisory team comprised of GBV survivors, providers, elders, and other
stakeholders will be assembled and meet to ensure that all aspects of the study are culturally safe and meets
the needs of the collaborating communities. We will conduct a survey and individual interviews with 90-100
Indigenous women to better understand their experiences, barriers to help-seeking, and resiliency factors that
motivate help-seeking after experiences with GBV. Women will be recruited from community-based partner
agencies, tribal health clinics, Indigenous led organizations, and tribal community leaders in order to capture
women seeking help as well as women who have not sought help. Our proposed community engaged study is
in line with the priorities of the Native American Research Center for Health (NARCH) initiative because it aims
to address the health disparities related to GBV while promoting wellness in Indigenous populations by allowing
communities to select, control and prioritize health-related research and research career enhancement
opportunities, and establishes trust between academic institutions and tribal communities. Our pilot study data
will generate baseline data andknowledge to advance our understanding of the complex needs of Indigenous
women after experiences of GBV and reduce barriers to needed services and allow for the meaningful
dissemination of findings in a way that reduces health disparities and promotes health equity. This pilot study
proposal also helps to build a foundationupon which to carry out larger community based participatory studies
that can be used to generate actionable recommendations to improve identification and compre...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10438024
- **Project number:** 1S06GM146126-01
- **Recipient organization:** GREAT LAKES INTER-TRIBAL COUNCIL, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeneile Marie Luebke
- **Activity code:** S06 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $104,176
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-19 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10438024

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10438024, Healing From Within: Identifying and Understanding the Intersecting Barriers to Help-seeking After Experiences of Violence for Wisconsin American Indian Women Through Survivor-led Research (1S06GM146126-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10438024. Licensed CC0.

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