title: Engaging First Nation and Inuit communities in asthma management and control: assessing cultural appropriateness of educational resources.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is a growing concern in First Nations and Inuit communities. As with many health indicators and outcomes, Aboriginal peoples living in remote areas experience greater disparities in respiratory health compared with non-Aboriginal Canadians. Therefore, it is critically important to take into account their unique needs when developing asthma educational materials and resources. The purpose of this study is to assess the cultural relevance of existing asthma education materials for First Nations and Inuit peoples. Five First Nations and Inuit communities from across Canada participated in the project.
  
  
  METHODS
  A combination of quantitative evaluations (eg surveys) and qualitative approaches (eg open discussion, live chats) were used to assess printed and web-based asthma education materials. Participants represented First Nations and Inuit communities from across Canada and were selected on the basis of age and role: 6 to 12 years old (children), 12 and over (youth), parents and grandparents, community leaders and teachers, and community advisory group members.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In general, the results showed that although participants of all age categories liked the selection of asthma educational materials and resources, they identified pictures and images related to First Nations and Inuit people living and coping with asthma as ways of improving cultural relevance. This reinforces findings that tailoring materials to include Aboriginal languages, ceremonies and traditions would enhance their uptake. Our findings also demonstrate that visually based content in both printed and virtual form were the preferred style of learning of all participants, except young children who preferred to learn through play and interactive activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asthma is a growing concern in First Nations and Inuit communities. Given this concern, it is essential to understand cultural needs and preferences when developing asthma education materials and resources. The findings from this research emphasize the need to adapt existing asthma educational materials to better suit First Nations and Inuit cultures and the importance of directly engaging community members in the process.
authors.affiliation: Asthma Society of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. oxana@asthma.ca
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Latycheva
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chera
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hampson
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Fenton
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012107:Research Design; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity