title: A process for creating the Aboriginal children's health and well-being measure (ACHWM).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to identify concepts of health and well-being important to Aboriginal children and youth. These concepts were necessary for the development of a culturally appropriate measure of health.
  
  
  METHODS
  We completed 4 community consultation sessions, 4 advisory committee meetings, and 6 full-day focus groups within the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve. The focus groups engaged Aboriginal children and youth via relevant cultural teachings, a photography exercise combined with a community bicycling tour, and detailed discussions of health and well-being using photovoice. The process was guided by a conceptual model: the Medicine Wheel. The participants placed their photos on a wall mural and identified their most important concepts. These concepts were synthesized through expert consensus into items and reviewed by the broader community.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants ranged in age from 8.2 to 17.7 years (mean age=12.3). Through innovative methods, children and youth identified 206 concepts representing the 4 quadrants of the Medicine Wheel: emotional, spiritual, physical and mental. These concepts were refocused, in collaboration with the community, to create a new 60-item measure of health and well-being that was primarily positive in focus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates the success of implementing a unique process of photovoice in combination with bicycling and informed by an Aboriginal framework. The results confirm the distinct conceptualization of health and well-being in this population and underscore the necessity for a culturally appropriate measure. This study also produced a first draft of the Aboriginal Children's Health and Well-being Measure (ACHWM).
authors.affiliation: School of Rural and Northern Health, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON. nyoung@laurentian.ca
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Mary Jo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wabano
authors.forename: Tricia A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mishibinijima
authors.forename: Rita G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Corbiere
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001642:Bicycling; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000208:ethnology*; D054521:Cultural Competency; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008297:Male; D010781:Photography; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: Child; Indians; North American; health status; photography; quality of life; questionnaires