| Title: |
Evaluation of a longitudinal digital citizen science initiative to understand the impact of culture on Indigenous youth mental health: Findings from a quasi-experimental qualitative study |
| Authors: |
Walker, Susannah; Kannan, Prasanna; Bhawra, Jasmin; Katapally, Tarun Reddy |
| Contributors: |
Li, Yuh-Yuh; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation; Canada Research Chairs |
| Source: |
PLOS ONE ; volume 18, issue 12, page e0294234 ; ISSN 1932-6203 |
| Publisher Information: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| Publication Year: |
2023 |
| Collection: |
PLOS Publications (via CrossRef) |
| Description: |
Background Indigenous youth in settler nations are susceptible to poor mental health due to complex intergenerational systemic inequities. Research has shown benefits of cultural connectedness for improving mental health; however, there are few studies which have evaluated the impact of culturally relevant mental health interventions, particularly among Indigenous youth. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of a culturally-responsive, land-based, active living initiative on the mental health of Indigenous youth. Methods This quasi-experimental qualitative study is part of Smart Indigenous Youth (SIY), a mixed-methods 5-year longitudinal digital citizen science initiative. SIY embeds culturally responsive, land-based active living programs into the curricula of high schools in rural Indigenous communities in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan. In year-1 (Winter 2019), 76 Indigenous youth citizen scientists (13–18 years) from 2 schools participated in the study. At the beginning of the term, each school initiated separate 4-month land-based active living programs specific to their culture, community, geography, and language (Cree and Saulteaux). Before and after the term, focus groups were conducted with the 2 Youth Citizen Scientist Councils, which included students from both participating schools. This study includes data from focus groups of one participating school, with 11 youth citizen scientists (5 boys, 6 girls). Focus group data were transcribed and analyzed by two independent reviewers using Nvivo to identify themes and subthemes. Both reviewers discussed their thematic analysis to reach consensus about final findings. Results Baseline focus group analyses (before land-based programming) revealed themes demonstrating the importance of Indigenous culture, identity, history, and language. Youth emphasized the impact of loss of language and culture, the importance of being a helper, and the necessity of intergenerational knowledge transfer. Follow-up focus group analyses (post ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1371/journal.pone.0294234 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294234; https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294234 |
| Rights: |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.A26600BD |
| Database: |
BASE |