NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region, Qikiqtaaluk Region

Tags: youth, workforce healthcare

Objective(s): The overarching goal of the project is to support the recruitment of Indigenous and northern youth into the NWT health workforce by asking a central question: What is needed to inspire Indigenous and Northern youth to pursue careers in health and social services?

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5645. The proposed study is a Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) project. Inspired by the Tli?cho framework, Strong Like Two People, this project aims to highlight the importance of making space for traditional knowledge and ways of being within Western, medical and scientific spaces. The overarching goal of the project is to support the recruitment of Indigenous and northern youth into the NWT health workforce. The central research question guiding this work is: What is needed to inspire Indigenous and Northern youth to pursue careers in health and social services? This question, as per CBPAR approaches, will be reaffirmed during community collaboration. The purpose of this research is to inform the development of a targeted health and social services workforce strategy for Indigenous and northern youth in the NWT. The scope is intentionally broad and includes various sectors, including government agencies, Indigenous organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), recognizing that workers in these fields may find employment in different organizational settings. The objectives of the study are - Identify local strengths and challenges for youth to envision themselves in health and social service careers; - Identify community perspectives to inform planning for health and social service career activities; - Collect inspiring stories of Indigenous and northern health and social service students and workers as role models. - Share research findings to enhance culturally and community-congruent recruitment and retention strategies fostered by Indigenous and Northern ways of knowing. This research project hopes to comprehensively gather perspectives from across the Northwest Territories, recognizing the diverse voices and insights of different communities. Specifically, this project is working with citizens from Déline, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Behchoko`, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Dettah, NDilo. This Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) includes an Advisory Committee and a Community Based Facilitator from each community. A community-based facilitator is a local knowledge holder and respected community member selected by the community government, band or community leaders. A Community Based Facilitator is the vital link between non-Indigenous researchers and the community, fostering a collaborative, respectful and culturally sensitive approach to research that prioritizes the well-being and self-determination of the Indigenous community involved. All community-based facilitators will be invited to join the advisory committee. This project will use different data collection methods with four groups of people (youth grades 8-12, Elders, current workers, and current students): - Focus group with five youth (grades 8-12) from the visiting communities - Sharing circle with five elders from the visiting communities - Online or face-to-face individual interviews with current northern health and social service workers (20) and students (10) from across the NT. - A socio-demographic questionnaire completed by all participants - Researcher field notes throughout the research process The focus groups, sharing circles, and interviews will be audio/video recorded and made into an infographic to share with policy stakeholders and the community. As recommended and requested by the community partners and community members consulted, other workshops and outreach activities to build youth creative skills and health science literacy will be added to complement the research activities when there is a community visit. The community visit schedule (see Appendix B) will be developed with each community-based facilitator and in collaboration with the other key stakeholders (the high school, the local health center, ARI's STEM outreach program, and other community partners). Research activities will be conducted either at the community center or at the Aurora College Community Learning Centers, depending on availability and with the advice of the Community-Based Facilitator. As with community-based participatory action research, the guiding questions for the interviews, sharing circles, and focus groups will be co-developed with the research advisory committee and community-based facilitators, as well as input from various community members and community leaders during community visits (e.g., Déline in October 2023, Behchoko` in December 2023, and NDilo in December 2023). By keeping the format of the interviews and focus group informal, participants have the opportunity to guide the conversation to what they feel is important. Allowing community members to guide the conversation in this way is important to ensure that they are continually informing the research team about what is important to each specific community. However, in order to maintain a level of continuity across communities, the focus of the question will be on central themes: o Gain insight into how northern youth see themselves as HCPs (strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and outcomes). o Discuss strategies to recruit and retain northern youth in the workforce o Explore local strengths and challenges in choosing a career in health care o Share ideas about what should be included in NWT health career activities The research team writes field notes to provide a comprehensive record of the researcher's thoughts, reflections, and actions throughout the research process. It also allows for the recording of various informal conversations and ongoing discussions with community members, collaborators, and knowledge users. This journal facilitates reflexivity and serves as a transparent documentation of the research methodology, data management processes, and theoretical insights. NVIVO software will be used to analyze the data. The software will assist in transcribing the audio recordings, coding the transcriptions, and organizing the sociodemographic data. The qualitative findings from the focus group, sharing circle, and interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis (Squires, 2023). Certain themes may emerge consistently across the sharing circles, focus groups, and interviews. The different methods will also capture nuances and divergent perspectives. Combining findings from all three methods provides a more nuanced understanding that enriches the overall interpretation of the research. The descriptive statistics from the socio-demographic questionnaire will complement the thematic analysis of the qualitative data. It will help to contextualize the qualitative findings. Project Initiation, community outreach and pre-engagement: After receiving funding, Principal Investigator Andreanne Robitaille presented a tepee session at Elèts'ehdèe, the annual meeting of Hotiì ts'eeda. Further communication is occurring with Indigenous Governments and community leaders via email, phone calls, and meetings. So far, project presentation has been made to Déline Got'ine Government, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Dehcho First Nations, Tli?cho Government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation. Ongoing pre-engagement with communities explores their interest in partnering and ensures alignment with community needs and values. For example, participation in community events such as the Tli?cho Research Expo (December 2023) and Déline Community Health & Culture Fair (October 2023) facilitates engagement with citizens and leaders. Consultations with the Research Advisory Committee provides additional insights (4 meetings a year and ongoing individual meetings with different members). Relationship Building: Informal engagements including coffee meetings, lunches, and community events foster relationships with facilitators and committee members. We are developing a project website. Ongoing updates on project outputs, outcomes and opportunities for involvement will be provided through the project website and social media channels of Aurora College and other partners. Data collection and analysis : The data collection will be plan with the community based facilitator at convenient times, considering school, work and community activities (ie. Community event career fair). Before the community visit, a poster with the schedule of the activities, designed with the community facilitator will be send to advertise in the community. Before leaving the community, a community event evening with refreshments open to all community members including the parents will be organize to share preliminary findings, celebrate youth and their creation in the health sciences outreach activities. Strategies for validating and sharing results, such as videos accessible online and community evening presentations, will be developed with the community-based facilitators and the Research Advisory Committee. Each community will get an invitation to a virtual or in person (depending on travel budget) follow up meeting to present and validate the preliminary findings. The research team will also try to align visit with community fair to have a booth and present preliminary findings. An email will also be sent to participant to invite them to provide feedback on the project. At these events, feedback will be gathered around 4 themes : 1. Experience with the Project: • Can you tell me about your overall experience participating in the research project? • What aspects of the project did you find most valuable? • Were there any challenges or difficulties you encountered during your participation? 2. Impact and Benefits: • How do you feel that your involvement in the project has impacted you personally? • Have you noticed any changes or developments in your community as a result of the project? • Are there any specific skills or knowledge that you have gained through your participation? 3. Suggestions for Improvement: • Are there any areas of the project that you feel could be improved upon? • Do you have any suggestions for how future projects could better meet the needs of participants? 4. Future Engagement: • Would you be interested in participating in similar projects in the future? Policy Engagement and Knowledge Utilization: A policy workshop in Yellowknife March 2025 will discuss findings and evidence-informed policy options to address the NWT’s health workforce crisis. A final infographic and research report will be drafted for dissemination to Indigenous organizations, government departments, and other stakeholders. Academic Dissemination: Presentations will be planned for conferences such as the NT Teachers’ Conference and PEER North Conference, as well as publication in the local Xàgots’eèhk’o` Journal. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: May 22 - December 31, 2024