RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Aboriginal Children's Health and Well-Being Measure (ACHWM) was developed to enable Aboriginal health leaders to gather information on the health of children at a local community level. This paper aims to describe the typical health profiles of First Nation children living on traditional territory as a reference to assist in the interpretation of ACHWM scores. METHODS: Three First Nations in Ontario, Canada, gathered health data from children using the ACHWM administered on Android tablets between 2013 and 2015. The survey data were previously analyzed to inform local health planning. These survey data were pooled to describe the distribution of ACHWM summary and quadrant scores from a larger sample and inform interpretation of ACHWM scores. RESULTS: ACHWM data from 196 participants (aged 7.6 to 21.7 yr) across 3 communities were included in the pooled sample. ACHWM summary scores ranged from 39.8 to 98.7 with a mean of 74.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 72.5-75.7) and a maximum of 100. Strengths were reported in the spiritual (mean 78.7, 95% CI 76.7-80.8), physical (mean 77.1, 95% CI 75.1-79.0) and emotional (mean 74.4, 95% CI 72.5-76.3) quadrants. The greatest opportunity for improvement was in the mental (cognition) quadrant (mean 61.6, 95% CI 56.9-63.4). INTERPRETATION: This paper presents initial estimates for child health scores based on self-report from a large sample of First Nations children living on reserve. These results establish benchmarks to aid interpretation of the ACHWM scores in these and other communities and contexts in the future.
RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Aboriginal children in Canada experience significant disparities in health in comparison to their mainstream peers. As Aboriginal communities and agencies strive to improve health, it is important to measure the impact of new programs and services. Since many Aboriginal children live in rural and remote communities, it is important that communities have access to measurement tools that are relevant and feasible to implement in these contexts. The Aboriginal Children's Health and Well-being Measure (ACHWM) was developed to meet the need for a culturally relevant measure of health and wellbeing for Aboriginal children (ages 8-18 years) in Canada. It was developed within one First Nation community: the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. The intention from inception was to ensure the feasibility and relevance of the ACHWM to other Aboriginal communities. The purpose of this article is to describe the relevance of the ACHWM beyond Wiikwemkoong. METHODS: This article presents the results of a community-based and collaborative research study that was jointly led by an academic researcher and a First Nations Health leader. The research began with the 58-question version of the ACHWM developed in Wiikwemkoong. The ACHWM was then submitted to a well-established process of community review in four new communities (in sequence): Weechi-it-te-win Family Services, M'Chigeeng First Nation, Whitefish River First Nation, and the Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre (OICC). The review process included an initial review by local experts, followed by a detailed review with children and caregivers through a detailed cognitive debriefing process. Each community/agency identified changes necessary to ensure appropriate fit in their community. The results from all communities were then aggregated and analysed to determine the similarities and differences. RESULTS: This research was conducted in 2014 and 2015 at four sites. Interviews with 23 children and 21 caregivers were completed. Key lessons were learned in all communities that enabled the team to improve the ACHWM in subtle but important ways. A total of 12 questions were revised, and four new questions were added during the process. This produced a 62-question version of the ACHWM, which was endorsed by all communities. CONCLUSIONS: The ACHWM has been improved through a detailed review process in four additional communities/agencies and resulted in a stable 62-question version of the survey. This process has demonstrated the relevance of the ACHWM to a variety of Aboriginal communities. This survey provides Aboriginal communities with a culturally appropriate tool to assess and track their children's health outcomes, enabling them to gather new evidence of child health needs and the effectiveness of programs in the future.
