NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Tags: social sciences, youth, aboriginal youth, participatory research, smoking, social media

Objective(s): This research explores if a social media intervention developed by Aboriginal youth (specifically videos to be available through YouTube) using a participatory approach can be an effective means for encouraging smoking prevention and/or cessation amongst youth and others in Aboriginal communities. In this research, the process itself is considered to be as important as the actual research product in truly changing perspectives, attitudes and behaviours among participants and others, and in acting as a catalyst for changing environments and policies from the “bottom-up”. Specific objectives of the research thus include both measurable/discrete objectives related to the research question (Objective 1) and less tangible behavioural change objectives (Objectives 2 and 3): 1. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach as a way to positively and productively engage Aboriginal youth in smoking prevention and cessation, and thereby inform future programs and policies; 2. to effect related behaviour changes in the Aboriginal student participants; and 3. to effect behaviour changes in the broader community.

Project Description: This research explores if a social media intervention developed by Aboriginal youth (specifically videos to be available through YouTube) using a participatory approach can be an effective means for encouraging smoking prevention and/or cessation amongst youth and others in Aboriginal communities. However, because it is grounded in the tenets of participatory research, the scope and potential impacts of the research extend beyond a simple, measurable research question to less tangible (but ultimately perhaps more important) grass root changes at the individual, community and population level (as reflected in the objectives below). In this research, the process itself is considered to be as important as the actual research product in truly changing perspectives, attitudes and behaviours among participants and others, and in acting as a catalyst for changing environments and policies from the “bottom-up”. Specific objectives of the research thus include both measurable/discrete objectives related to the research question (Objective 1) and less tangible behavioural change objectives (Objectives 2 and 3): 1. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach as a way to positively and productively engage Aboriginal youth in smoking prevention and cessation, and thereby inform future programs and policies; 2. to effect related behaviour changes in the Aboriginal student participants; and 3. to effect behaviour changes in the broader community. Students from the K'alemi Dene School in Ndilo will develop and produce videos on smoking. The project is being conducted concurrently with Aboriginal students in the Queen Elizabeth School in Edmonton. Local filmmakers with an interest in telling Aboriginal stories on film will provide both instruction and mentorship. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with the student participants at both the outset and conclusion of the project to evaluate changes in knowledge and perspectives on tobacco use and prevention/cessation, assess the development of critical thinking about the risks of smoking, and assess if capacity, confidence and leadership skills have been developed or enhanced. Project outset and conclusion interviews will also be conducted with research partners/collaborators (including appropriate school staff members) to discuss expectations (and if these were met) and to ensure that the research is appropriate and relevant for all. These evaluative mechanisms will help determine if this approach is efficacious for both schools and this population group. The process will be documented by the students, researchers and filmmakers. The videos will be uploaded to YouTube, and the best video from each school determined through YouTube voting and a contest in their schools and other Aboriginal schools. A social marketing and dissemination strategy will be used to maximize the viewing of the video and to assess social media uptake. This research is being done in partnership with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the K'alemi Dene School in Ndilo and the Dept. of Health and Social Services, GNWT. All of these research collaborators, together with additional collaborators from Health Canada (First Nations and Inuit Health) and the Canadian Cancer Society, will be involved at every stage of the research to ensure that expectations are being met and that the research is being conducted in an appropriate manner. The study will encourage critical thinking in youth participants about the risks of smoking. Youth engagement in collaborative team work as well as video and film development will foster life skills, build confidence and self-esteem and contribute to student participants' leadership abilities. Peer communication and community-based participatory research have proven to be effective methods for promoting community health and wellbeing through positively shaping health-related behaviours. This research will also help schools, community members and health policy makers better understand appropriate mechanisms for changing attitudes and behaviours on tobacco use amongst Aboriginal youth. The youth and schools will further benefit from the planned activities associated with this project. Filmmakers with expertise in Aboriginal films will provide both video instruction and mentorship for the students. It is planned to bring the students from the two schools together at two or more points in the process to share their experiences, and in doing so develop relationships between youths from two different geographic regions and ways of life. The visit of the NWT students to Edmonton will coincide with Dreamspeaker’s Festival in Edmonton, providing an opportunity for the students from both schools to participate in the Youth Day “Voices and Visions” and showcase their videos. If funding permits, the students with the top videos will have the opportunity to travel to two local/national Indigenous film festivals to present their results: (1) the imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival in Toronto in September 2013; and (2) the Yellowknife Film Festival in October 2013. Finally, the top videos will also be submitted to the Reel Youth Film Festival, which screens short films made by young people less than 20 years submitted from youth film making organizations, school film classes, and independent youth film makers. All research findings (including the student videos and process documentary videos) will be shared first with the school students and staff. Any additional research findings (for example impact evaluations based on pre- and post-study interviews and questionnaires) will also be shared first with the schools and the research team. This information will then be presented to the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Band Council and, if desired, the Edmonton Pubic School Board, and to community members and other interested parties at open community meetings. It is anticipated that further dissemination will occur via Band Council and school newsletters, and through casual distribution of the videos by the school and community participants. The research team also hopes to showcase the videos in the Yellowknife Film Festival in October 2013. The most locally effective means of dissemination, knowledge translation and influence is anticipated to arise from the engagement of students, families and communities in this initiative, and the resulting dialogues around this important health issue. Contextually relevant briefing papers will be sent to relevant stakeholders including federal, provincial and territorial legislators and health services' representatives. The researchers are committed to working with their government policy maker, educational and community partners to accelerate the translation of this research initiative into their tobacco cessation/prevention programs. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from November 19, 2012 to December 31, 2012.