Healing the whole human being: Realist review of best practices and contextual factors for preventing & treating opioid misuse in Indigenous contexts in Alberta

Key Messages
• Colonization and resulting traumas directly impact addictions & mental health among Indigenous people, perpetuating stigma, misinformation & mistrust around accessing addictions services
• Improving coordination between all levels of healthcare (e.g., primary/tertiary) and service domains (e.g., residential treatment, incarceration to community & vice versa) is key to sustained treatment outcomes
Implications
• Opioids first entered Indigenous communities as prescription painkillers; medical, health, criminal justice, education, and child welfare systems have a responsibility to mitigate burden by identifying and preventing
common pathways into prescription misuse

• Healing the whole human being requires community-oriented and accountable resources to break cycles of trauma