Rhonda Johnson, Doreen Leavitt and Robin Morales Department of Health Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage Delivered by Catherine Carry, Project Manager –NAHO 2009 National Conference

1. Rhonda Johnson, Doreen Leavitt
and Robin Morales
Department of Health Sciences,
University of Alaska Anchorage
Delivered by Catherine Carry, Project
Manager – NAHO Conference 2009 - Ottawa

2. Overview:
• Background
• Methods
• Key findings and lessons learned
• Implications
• Next steps
• Circumpolar health links and
opportunities

3. Background:
• IPY outreach project on Inuit wellness
broadcast APTN-North (and 360-N in Alaska)
May 2009
• Inuktitut and English open-captioning/
subtitles
• Focus on health issues of shared concern
and community-based solutions and
„promising practices‟
• Linkage to ongoing IPY research, Inuit
Health Survey
• Use of „communication for change‟ model
using multiple channels of delivery

4. Background:
• Three 2 hour live TV shows May 11-13, 2009
• Men‟s Health
• Maternity Care
• Youth Resilience
• Panel presentations with skilled moderator
and studio audience
• Video vignettes of community programs
and IPY funded research-Inuit Health Survey
• Use of Skype, community-based and virtual
focus groups, telephone, website and email
• Development of DVDs and videos archived
on Web site (NAHO)

5. Background:
• Utilization Focused Evaluation
Approach (Patton, 2008)
• Engagement of stakeholders to identify
key questions and methods
• Primarily formative
• Three foci:
• Overall Objectives
• Lessons Learned
• Key Messages

6. Background:
• Objectives
• How revised?
• How achieved?
• Lessons learned
• Pre, post and during production
• Key Messages
• How developed?
• How delivered?
• How received?
• How used?

7. Methods:
• Participatory/Observation
• Project team telephone calls Oct-May
• Studio taping-Iqaluit May
• Document review
• Project team meeting minutes
• Working group meeting minutes
• Key informant interviews
• Project team
• Studio audiences
• Community and virtual focus groups
• Web site tracking (ongoing)

8. Key Findings-
Objectives
• How developed?
• From existing mission/interests
• Disseminate information
• Provide forum to showcase innovative
community projects
• Capacity building all levels
“…ideally both process/products
should be socially helpful…”
• From IPY call for proposals
• Increase awareness of northern issues
• Engage youth in polar research

9. Key Findings-
Objectives
• How Revised?
• Evaluation component added to both
document and reflect upon process
and outcomes
• „Communication for Change‟ model
collaboratively developed and
„tested‟
• Logistics increased number of
Canadian vignettes (3 to 5) and
decreased number of Greenlandic (3
to 1)
• Development of working groups to
guide process

10. Key Findings-
Objectives
• How achieved?
• Self-report, surveys, Web-tracking
• Disseminate information?
• Provide forum to showcase innovative
community projects?
• Capacity building all levels?
“…ideally both process/products
should be socially helpful…”
• From IPY call for proposals
• Increase awareness of northern
issues?
• Engage youth in polar research?

11. Key Findings-Lessons
Learned
• Pre-production
• Communication
• International cross-cultural, multi-
media collaboration is challenging
• Collaboration
• Including new working groups and
funders
• Technology
• Need to blend old and new
“Having a large connection to people across the country,
cultivating those relationships early on is a good thing we’ve
learned from this.” Denise Rideout, Communications Officer,
Inuit Tuttarvingat, NAHO

12. Key Findings-Lessons
Learned
• During
• More time needed for vignette
coordination and production
• More time needed to engage busy
academics and community
members
• Technical and logistical issues
challenging in absence of much
infrastructure but still successful
“One night we participated through Skype and the girls were
wonderful. They were so excited they were jumping up and
having so much fun with the live part of that.” Elsie Diamond,
Nain Community Focus Group.

13. Key Findings-Lessons
Learned
• Post-production
• Reduce number of panelists and/or
content to increase interaction and
dialogue and to reduce technical
burden on staff
• Too many communication channels
can dilute key messages and
„community voice‟
• Participation in this kind of project
has been „transformative‟ for many
“It was us getting together and being able to participate on the
National Level. We were excited to be involved. Not too many times
we’re involved at that level.” Delores Harley, Community Focus Group
Facilitator, Inuvik.

14. Key Findings-Messages
• Men’s health: “How are we as
men?”
• Maternity care: “Birth, a
joyous community event”
• Youth resilience: “I am young
and I am proud”

15. Key Findings-Messages
• How developed?
• Working groups with advisory and
expert input-collaborative process
over eight months
• Staff identified and/or created
additional Web resources to
supplement TV shows
• Panelists applied and modified key
messages to meet own objectives
“Coming from our different parts of the north we thought out our
own ideas brainstormed and looked at how they fit in to what exists
out there and came up with a plan.” Fred Andersen, Men’s Working
Group Member.

16. Key Findings-Messages
• How delivered?
• Primarily via live TV broadcast,
including expert panels, pre-recorded
vignettes and interaction via phone,
Skype, internet with audience(s) and
community focus groups
• Additional ongoing dissemination
through Web site(s), DVDs
• Language barriers
• Interpretation (translation) delays
and captioning
• Technical challenges
• Skype, internet access, connections
and capacity

17. Key Findings-Messages
• How received?
• Men’s Health: “That there should be
more programs for men; What are men facing
today; Healing is a community problem; Men’s
rehabilitation and the need for it.”
• Maternity Care: “Birthing is supposed to
be a wonderful experience; The importance of
traditional midwifery; The importance of
maternity centres in Northern communities.”
• Youth Resilience: “Youth
empowerment; There is hope for the future of
*From audience surveys and our youth; We’re getting out of the rut we’re in;
key informant interviews. Young people have so much potential.”

18. Key Findings-Messages
• How used?
“I want to try and facilitate programs in
my region to help Inuit.” Men‟s Wellness
audience member.
“I‟m going to share these videos with research
partners and community partners.” Midwifery
audience member.
“I feel more empowered to create and to
do good things for my community.” Youth
Program audience member.
“Bring this knowledge to my home
community Nain and consider Inuit maternity
care myself.” Midwifery audience member.
*From audience surveys and
key informant interviews.

19. Key Findings-Messages
• Additional Comments:
• Providing a Voice for Inuit
• Connecting to Others
• Empowerment
• Similar Issues
• Role Models
• Successful Programs
• Continued Efforts
“With the new computer age people are becoming involved, its
taking away being alone, alcohol, drugs, and getting in trouble. And
young people are getting more involved with the community.” Elsie
Diamond. Community Focus Group Facilitator, Nain.

20. Key Findings-Web
Tracking
• www.inuitwellness.ca
• www.naho.ca/inuit/e/TVseries
• #1 of Top 35 downloaded documents
• (Dec 1, 2008-June 1, 2009)
• (223 hits-14.29%)
• www.naho.ca/inuit
• Top 10 most requested pages
• (May 2009)
• /inuit/e/Tvseries #2
• (1,363 page views-3.50%)
• /inuit/wellnessTV/index.php #5
• (1,044 page views-2.68%)

21. Implications
• Project perceived as successful by
many participants
• Project team
• Panelists
• Community Focus groups
• Viewers
• Others
• Project generated a lot of interest
• New informal/formal networks
• Increased motivation for action
• Increased tools for action

22. Implications
• Case study of „Communication
for Social Change‟?
• Rockefeller Foundation and Johns
Hopkins University Center for
Communication Programs
• “a process of public and private
dialogue through which people
define who they are, what they
want and how they can get it.”
• Gumuclo, 2001

23. Communication for
Social Change?
• Sustainability of social change more likely if
individuals/communities affected own the process
and content
• Empowering, horizontal relationships, with bias
toward local content and ownership, and giving
„voice‟ to unheard
• Communities should be agents of own change
• Emphasis from persuasion and transmission of
outside technical expertise to dialogue, debate
and negotiation of issues that resonate with the
community
• Emphasis on outcomes beyond individual
behaviors to social norms, policies, culture and
supporting environment

24. Implications
• How to apply and extend „high
quality‟ lessons learned to future
projects?
• How to build upon community
engagement and ownership?
• How can we measure social
change?

25. Next Steps
• Ongoing
• Data collection and analysis
• Documentation
• Dissemination

26. Acknowledgements
• Inuit Tuttarvingat of the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO)
• Project Team Leaders
• Catherine Carry
• Dianne Kinnon
• Kath Clarida
• Denise Rideout
• Mark Hamilton
• Alex Stubbing
• Panelists, Moderator, Studio Audiences, Community Focus Group
Members, Youth Virtual Focus Group Members, Technical Team,
Videographers, Community Members, Show Participants and Viewers
Partners: National Inuit Youth Council, Inuit Communications (ICSL),
“Qanuippitali—Inuit Health Survey,” Department of Health Sciences at
the University of Alaska, EnTheos Films, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of
Canada, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and several working groups and in-kind
contributions.
The series was funded in part by the Government of Canada, IPY
Program, Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada (including
Northern Region). Funding was also provided by the CIHR Team in
Circumpolar Health Research; Department of Health and Social Services,
Government of Nunavut; Indian and Northern Affairs-Inuit Relations
Secretariat; Canadian North; and First Air.

27. Circumpolar Health Links and Resources of Interest
International Congress of Circumpolar Health 14-July 2009, Yellowknife, NWT
http://www.icch2009.com
*NOTE: ICCH 15 to be held in Fairbanks, AK August 2012
International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH)
http://www.iuch.net/
American Society of Circumpolar Health (ASCH)
• Arctic Health Sciences Seminar (AHSS)-Friday Feb 5th, 2010 UAA
• Call for abstracts coming soon! Student abstracts welcome!
International Network for Circumpolar Health Research http://inchr.com/
***********SAVE THE DATES: May 17-21, 2010!**************
First Circumpolar Health Summer Institute, Copenhagen, DE
• Will include annual INCHR meeting plus two tracks:
• nutritional assessment methodologies
• health disparities in the north
• Arctic Human Health Initiative (AHHI) http://www.arctichealth.org/ahhi/

28. Questions?