Why Measure Wellness
Why implement the Aaniish Naa Gegii?
The App gives kids an opportunity to share how they are doing and allows local health workers to dive into deeper conversations with them.
Depending on how the community wants to implement the App, the measure also provides First Nation, Inuit, & Metis communities or organizations with valuable data.
1) As a health screening tool
The Aaniish Naa Gegii, as a health screening tool, can create a baseline connection between an individual child and support services. Clinicians and counsellors have used this tool one-on-one with the children and youth they are working with. The survey generates an overall wellness score, as well as scores for physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.
The screening function may be used:
- To engage hard-to-reach children
- To stimulate positive discussions to promote better health
- As a catalyst for honest conversations about their health
- Clinicians (mental health workers, doctors, etc.) can use the measure with their clients to help inform their sessions and direct the conversation.
- Can record progress and opportunities for growth from intake to follow-ups
2) For population health assessment
The Aaniish Naa Gegii can be used as a Population Health assessment to describe the health of a group of children within a school, organization, or community. The data illustrate how well the children and youth are doing, their overall strengths, and where there might be opportunities for growth. For example, there may be a need for further resources or funding to support health & wellness development for children and youth in the community.
3) As a program evaluation tool
The Aaniish Naa Gegii can be used as a program evaluation tool and collects health outcomes to assess the impact of a program on children’s wellness. By administering the survey before and after a program, health care workers can track changes in participants’ wellness scores. These scores are Outcome Measures. Outcome measures are extremely valuable in reporting and evaluation work, superior to output measures, which are easier to collect but don’t tell a full story. Fund administrators are always looking for validated outcome measurement.
This will allow them:
- To guide decisions about what program to offer
- To advocate for program funding
- To determine if the program is effective and/or if changes are needed
