Movember Canada Grant Project
Evaluating and extending the Aboriginal men’s DUDES Club program
(Project Lead: Gross, Project Team Members: Mussell, Smye, Graduate students: 1 PhD and/or 1
Masters – TBA)
Background: Representing the ultimate expression of severe depression and other mental illnesses, many
Canadian men are lost to suicide. Subsumed within the Canadian male suicide statistics are Aboriginal
men, an especially vulnerable sub-group who are disproportionality impacted by suicide compared to the
general population. Aboriginal men are at significantly higher risk for suicide than both Aboriginal
women and non-Aboriginal men. As an extension of untreated depression, which can emerge from
complex histories of trauma and sometimes manifest as domestic violence and substance overuse, suicide
is a significant issue for Aboriginal men. The health services literature reveals unique access issues for
Aboriginal men. Multiple intersecting social and institutional stigmas associated with illegal opioid use
and Methadone maintenance treatment, HIV, Hepatitis C and depression, all of which intersect with
men’s social identities, masculinities and Aboriginality can form barriers to taking up primary health care
services. The disproportionate burden of depression and suicide among Aboriginal men coupled with the
disconnects between Aboriginal men and existing health care services reveals an urgent need to find
effective community based models of healing. One such program, The DUDES Club, is an innovative
program focused on addressing the burden of illness and social and structural marginalization of
Aboriginal men in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, one of the most vulnerable communities in Canada.
Design and Methods: This project will formally evaluate the DUDES Club and pilot test the revised
program in Prince George and Smithers, regional and rural centres in the North of British Columbia. We
will complete a formal evaluation of the Vancouver DUDES Club. Specifically, we will conduct an
expansive and rigorous program evaluation over 12 months soliciting input from approximately 50% (n =
150) of the current Vancouver DUDES Club members through program evaluation survey questionnaires.
In addition, with the guidance of community elders, a semi-structured individual interview guide will be
developed. The surveys will be analyzed to provide further information regarding demographics, levels of
satisfaction, and overall impacts on quality of life indicators. The open-ended section of the survey
questionnaires will provide added depth to the raw data toward developing a better understanding of the
program’s strengths, and its shortcomings. Descriptive and correlational analyses will be conducted to
help identify factors associated with program satisfaction. Semi-structured individual interviews will be
conducted with 20 participants to expand upon findings in the survey questionnaires and provide data for
thematic analysis. The aim of this formal evaluation will be to refine program content ahead of adapting
and pilot-testing the DUDES Club program with Aboriginal men in Prince George and Smithers, BC.
Applying the same data collection methods (survey questionnaires and individual interviews) with a
minimum of 15 participants at each site, we will evaluate the acceptability of the program and make
further adjustments ahead of fully launching those respective DUDES Clubs.
Integrated KD: The community based research proposed in this project involves formal connections with
organizations including the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, the Native Mental Health Association of
Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the Mood Disorders Society of Canada to
achieve integrated KD and broad dissemination of project findings, including a toolkit which can be used
to adapt this model to local settings. In addition, a documentary is planned to showcase the project work
and help share the men’s stories. This documentary will be entitled, “Taking Off Our Armour: A
Warrior’s Path to Healing the Spirit.”
Significance: Findings derived from the DUDES club evaluation and quality improvement project are
fundamental to advancing the mental health and well-being of Aboriginal men and communities in
Canada. Such an initiative will provide a much needed opportunity to empower Aboriginal men to claim
ownership over the development of community-based mental health programming that enables them to
re-establish spiritual integrity and reclaim meaningful roles in their respective families and societies.