Sponsor
This work is supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (P50DA058619; Walls & Barlow, MPI). The contents of this manuscript do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH. This work is also supported in part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Published In
Prevention Science : the Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-27-2026
Subjects
Indigenous communities -- health and socio-economic conditions
Abstract
Indigenous Peoples experience severe health inequities rooted in experiences of colonization. Calls for strengths-based, culturally grounded research and practice to redress these harms continue to grow. This systematic review assesses how Indigenous "culture" has been quantified in research across the globe over a 10-year span. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched four databases (2013-2023) for peer-reviewed, English-language articles featuring quantitative measures of Indigenous culture as a positive/protective factor. Data were extracted via a double coding system to assess cultural domains, operationalization strategies, and sociodemographic characteristics of reviewed studies. We reviewed 279 records and identified 461 measures, 289 of which were unique. The most frequently coded cultural domains were connectivity/belonging (47%) and traditional medicine/spirituality (47%), followed by cultural identity (43%) and Indigenous language (36%). Measures most often operationalized culture through behaviors (61%) and beliefs/values (41%). Only 56% of studies reported any psychometric evaluation. Most studies centered on North American contexts and human health outcomes. Efforts to measure Indigenous culture are increasing but remain fragmented, lacking consensus in domain definitions and operational approaches. Results suggest a need for resources to appropriately grapple with and build momentum around ethically and logistically complicated issues surrounding Indigenous cultural measures.
Rights
Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
DOI
10.1007/s11121-026-01903-5
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44576
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Citation Details
Walls, M. L., Brown, D. L., O’Keefe, V. M., White, E. J., Gonzalez, M., Blackmore, I., Maudrie, T. L., Richardson, M., Werwie, T. R., Rakena, H. G. T., Medley, A., Desjardins, M. M., Sevillano, L., Wilson, G., & Lewis, M. E. (2026). Measuring Indigenous Cultural Strengths: a Systematic Review of a Decade of Approaches. Prevention Science.