Measure Wellness
The Aaniish Naa Gegii Children’s Health & Well-being Measure is a survey that assesses the health and well-being of Indigenous youth. It assesses spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental wellness, helping communities identify where children may need additional support. Results are displayed visually through the Balance Chart and summarized in a comprehensive report on the well-being of community children.
The App
The survey is completed on a tablet that engages children and sparks honest conversation. The results are shared with each child in a visual form on the Balance Chart.
The data obtained from the survey can be used for many purposes, including identifying areas where more services are needed and supporting advocacy for program funding.
The Aaniish Naa Gegii App empowers communities and organizations to measure the wellness of First Nation, Inuit, and Métis children. The ACHWM app is available to communities with a signed agreement.
The Balance Chart
After completing the survey, the child’s scores are displayed in real time on a Balance Chart or a radar chart. The Balance Chart highlights Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, and Mental (cognitive) health.
The visual representation empowers the local health worker to share a culturally relevant image with the child and can be a valuable conversation starter about the child’s strengths and opportunities.
Versions
The Aaniish Naa Gegii has been modified to meet the needs of diverse groups, in collaboration with advisory committees comprising local Elders, community members, and children.
- First Nation, Inuit or Metis context
- Single or Multiple Families
- English or French
Accessibility
The App includes a read-to-me function to increase accessibility for children. This option will read the question and answers to guide the child in sharing their wellness story.
What can the ACHWM be used for?
The purpose of the ACHWM is to provide Indigenous communities or organizations with an overview of the health and well-being status of the children and youth in their communities.
What is your purpose?
1) For population health assessment
The ACHWM is used as a Population Health assessment that can be valuable for providing a description of the health of a group of children within a school, organization, or community. The ACHWM can collect an overall group-level population health assessment. Organizations use this for groups of 15 to 200 individuals (support considerations needed for larger groups). The data illustrates how well the children and youth are doing, their strengths as a whole, and where there might be opportunities for growth. For example, there may be a need for further resources or funding to support healthy wellness development for children and youth in the community.
2) As a health screening tool
The ACHWM 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 session and direct conversation)
- Can record progress and opportunities for growth from intake to follow-ups
3) As a program evaluation tool
The ACHWM can be used as a program evaluation tool and collects health outcomes to understand the impact a program has on children’s wellness. By administering the survey before and after a program, health care workers can track changes in the wellness scores of the participants.
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
6 Benefits of the ACHWM
The Results & Report
Once a child has completed the ACHWM, an individual report is automatically generated and available to local health workers to summarize their wellness scores and any answers of concern that require immediate follow-up.
Automated group reports* are available for download off of your private account that summarizes aggregated, group results. Our reports focus on the children’s strengths and positive characteristics. By focusing on what the child does have, not what they lack, the reports create opportunities for children to build confidence and use their strengths to work towards wellness.
All of the raw data that contributed to this report is available to you at any time.
*Please note that the automated group reports are only available for the Collaborative and Research Agreements. If an Independent Agreement is selected, an analytical tool is provided to help facilitate communities in writing their own reports.
Implementation Process Map
Download ACHWM Process Map to help walk you through each milestone along the way.
Download The ACHWM Process Graphic. This graphic demonstrates the ACHWM process at both the child and community levels.
Recommendations for Implementation
The ACHWM team has identified numerous conversations that have been helpful in the early stages of ACHWM planning and organizing. We encourage communities and not-for-profit organizations to reflect on this project in-depth, prior to signing an agreement. The key focus of this project is supporting the health and wellness of children and youth.
