Rhonda Johnson, Doreen Leavitt

and Robin Morales

Department of Health Sciences,

University of Alaska Anchorage

Delivered by Catherine Carry, Project

Manager – NAHO Conference 2009 - Ottawa

• Background

• Methods

• Key findings and lessons learned

• Implications

• Next steps

• Circumpolar health links and

opportunities

Overview:

• IPY outreach project on Inuit wellness

broadcast APTN-North (and 360-N in Alaska)

May 2009

• Inuktitut and English open-captioning/

subtitles

• Focus on health issues of shared concern

and community-based solutions and

„promising practices‟

• Linkage to ongoing IPY research, Inuit

Health Survey

• Use of „communication for change‟ model

using multiple channels of delivery

Background:

• Three 2 hour live TV shows May 11-13, 2009

• Men‟s Health• Maternity Care• Youth Resilience

• Panel presentations with skilled moderator

and studio audience

• Video vignettes of community programs

and IPY funded research-Inuit Health Survey

• Use of Skype, community-based and virtual

focus groups, telephone, website and email

• Development of DVDs and videos archived

on Web site (NAHO)

Background:

• Utilization Focused Evaluation

Approach (Patton, 2008)

• Engagement of stakeholders to identify

key questions and methods

• Primarily formative

• Three foci:

• Overall Objectives• Lessons Learned• Key Messages

Background:

• Objectives

• How revised?• How achieved?

• Lessons learned

• Pre, post and during production

• Key Messages

• How developed?• How delivered?• How received?• How used?

Background:

• Participatory/Observation

• Project team telephone calls Oct-May• Studio taping-Iqaluit May

• Document review

• Project team meeting minutes• Working group meeting minutes

• Key informant interviews

• Project team• Studio audiences• Community and virtual focus groups

• Web site tracking (ongoing)

Methods:

• How developed?

• From existing mission/interests

• Disseminate information

• Provide forum to showcase innovative

community projects

• Capacity building all levels

“…ideally both process/products

should be socially helpful…”

• From IPY call for proposals

• Increase awareness of northern issues

• Engage youth in polar research

Key Findings-

Objectives

• How Revised?

• Evaluation component added to both document and reflect upon process and outcomes

• „Communication for Change‟ model collaboratively developed and „tested‟

• Logistics increased number of Canadian vignettes (3 to 5) and decreased number of Greenlandic (3 to 1)

• Development of working groups to guide process

Key Findings-

Objectives

• How achieved?

• Self-report, surveys, Web-tracking• Disseminate information?

• Provide forum to showcase innovative community projects?

• Capacity building all levels?

“…ideally both process/products should be socially helpful…”

• From IPY call for proposals• Increase awareness of northern

issues?

• Engage youth in polar research?

Key Findings-

Objectives

• Pre-production

• Communication

• International cross-cultural, multi-

media collaboration is challenging

• Collaboration

• Including new working groups and

funders

• Technology

• Need to blend old and new

Key Findings-Lessons

Learned

“Having a large connection to people across the country,

cultivating those relationships early on is a good thing we’ve

learned from this.” Denise Rideout, Communications Officer,

Inuit Tuttarvingat, NAHO

• During

• More time needed for vignette

coordination and production

• More time needed to engage busy

academics and community

members

• Technical and logistical issues

challenging in absence of much

infrastructure but still successful

Key Findings-Lessons

Learned

“One night we participated through Skype and the girls were

wonderful. They were so excited they were jumping up and

having so much fun with the live part of that.” Elsie Diamond,

Nain Community Focus Group.

• Post-production

• Reduce number of panelists and/or

content to increase interaction and

dialogue and to reduce technical

burden on staff

• Too many communication channels

can dilute key messages and

„community voice‟

• Participation in this kind of project

has been „transformative‟ for many

Key Findings-Lessons

Learned

“It was us getting together and being able to participate on the

National Level. We were excited to be involved. Not too many times

we’re involved at that level.” Delores Harley, Community Focus Group

Facilitator, Inuvik.

• Men’s health: “How are we as

men?”

• Maternity care: “Birth, a

joyous community event”

• Youth resilience: “I am young

and I am proud”

Key Findings-Messages

• How developed?

• Working groups with advisory and

expert input-collaborative process

over eight months

• Staff identified and/or created

additional Web resources to

supplement TV shows

• Panelists applied and modified key

messages to meet own objectives

Key Findings-Messages

“Coming from our different parts of the north we thought out our

own ideas brainstormed and looked at how they fit in to what exists

out there and came up with a plan.” Fred Andersen, Men’s Working

Group Member.

• How delivered?

• Primarily via live TV broadcast, including expert panels, pre-recorded vignettes and interaction via phone, Skype, internet with audience(s) and community focus groups

• Additional ongoing dissemination through Web site(s), DVDs

• Language barriers• Interpretation (translation) delays

and captioning

• Technical challenges• Skype, internet access, connections

and capacity

Key Findings-Messages

Key Findings-Messages• How received?

• Men’s Health: “That there should be

more programs for men; What are men facing

today; Healing is a community problem; Men’s

rehabilitation and the need for it.”

• Maternity Care: “Birthing is supposed to

be a wonderful experience; The importance of

traditional midwifery; The importance of

maternity centres in Northern communities.”

• Youth Resilience: “Youth

empowerment; There is hope for the future of

our youth; We’re getting out of the rut we’re in;

Young people have so much potential.”

*From audience surveys and

key informant interviews.

• How used?

Key Findings-Messages

“Bring this knowledge to my home

community Nain and consider Inuit maternity

care myself.” Midwifery audience member.

“I‟m going to share these videos with research

partners and community partners.” Midwifery

audience member.

“I want to try and facilitate programs in

my region to help Inuit.” Men‟s Wellness

audience member.

“I feel more empowered to create and to

do good things for my community.” Youth

Program audience member.

*From audience surveys and

key informant interviews.

“With the new computer age people are becoming involved, its

taking away being alone, alcohol, drugs, and getting in trouble. And

young people are getting more involved with the community.” Elsie

Diamond. Community Focus Group Facilitator, Nain.

Key Findings-Messages

• Additional Comments:

• Providing a Voice for Inuit

• Connecting to Others

• Empowerment

• Similar Issues

• Role Models

• Successful Programs

• Continued Efforts

• www.inuitwellness.ca

• www.naho.ca/inuit/e/TVseries

• #1 of Top 35 downloaded documents• (Dec 1, 2008-June 1, 2009)

• (223 hits-14.29%)

• www.naho.ca/inuit

• Top 10 most requested pages • (May 2009)• /inuit/e/Tvseries #2

• (1,363 page views-3.50%)

• /inuit/wellnessTV/index.php #5 • (1,044 page views-2.68%)

Key Findings-Web

Tracking

• Project perceived as successful by

many participants

• Project team• Panelists• Community Focus groups• Viewers• Others

• Project generated a lot of interest

• New informal/formal networks• Increased motivation for action• Increased tools for action

Implications

• Case study of „Communication

for Social Change‟?

• Rockefeller Foundation and Johns

Hopkins University Center for

Communication Programs

• “a process of public and private

dialogue through which people

define who they are, what they

want and how they can get it.”

• Gumuclo, 2001

Implications

• Sustainability of social change more likely if

individuals/communities affected own the process

and content

• Empowering, horizontal relationships, with bias

toward local content and ownership, and giving

„voice‟ to unheard

• Communities should be agents of own change

• Emphasis from persuasion and transmission of

outside technical expertise to dialogue, debate

and negotiation of issues that resonate with the

community

• Emphasis on outcomes beyond individual

behaviors to social norms, policies, culture and

supporting environment

Communication for

Social Change?

• How to apply and extend „high

quality‟ lessons learned to future

projects?

• How to build upon community

engagement and ownership?

• How can we measure social

change?

Implications

• Ongoing

• Data collection and analysis

• Documentation

• Dissemination

Next Steps

• Inuit Tuttarvingat of the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO)

• Project Team Leaders

• Catherine Carry

• Dianne Kinnon

• Kath Clarida

• Denise Rideout

• Mark Hamilton

• Alex Stubbing

• Panelists, Moderator, Studio Audiences, Community Focus Group

Members, Youth Virtual Focus Group Members, Technical Team,

Videographers, Community Members, Show Participants and Viewers

Partners: National Inuit Youth Council, Inuit Communications (ICSL),

“Qanuippitali—Inuit Health Survey,” Department of Health Sciences at

the University of Alaska, EnTheos Films, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of

Canada, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and several working groups and in-kind

contributions.

The series was funded in part by the Government of Canada, IPY

Program, Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada (including

Northern Region). Funding was also provided by the CIHR Team in

Circumpolar Health Research; Department of Health and Social Services,

Government of Nunavut; Indian and Northern Affairs-Inuit Relations

Secretariat; Canadian North; and First Air.

Acknowledgements

Circumpolar Health Links and Resources of InterestInternational Congress of Circumpolar Health 14-July 2009, Yellowknife, NWT

http://www.icch2009.com*NOTE: ICCH 15 to be held in Fairbanks, AK August 2012

International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH)

http://www.iuch.net/

American Society of Circumpolar Health (ASCH)• Arctic Health Sciences Seminar (AHSS)-Friday Feb 5th, 2010 UAA• Call for abstracts coming soon! Student abstracts welcome!

International Network for Circumpolar Health Research http://inchr.com/***********SAVE THE DATES: May 17-21, 2010!**************

First Circumpolar Health Summer Institute, Copenhagen, DE• Will include annual INCHR meeting plus two tracks:

• nutritional assessment methodologies• health disparities in the north

• Arctic Human Health Initiative (AHHI) http://www.arctichealth.org/ahhi/

Questions?