Features indigenous specific health promotion research drawn from Canadian, American, Australian and New Zealand literature.

This document explores the value of physical activity, sport and recreation as supports to mental health programming for British Columbia's (BC) Aboriginal (First Nations, Metis, and urban Aboriginal) populations. The preventive value of physical activity has been widely acknowledged.

This 10-page research summary describes the traditional role of sport, recreation, and physical activity in Aboriginal communities; provides recent data on Aboriginal health status and demographics; and outlines the social and economic costs of physical inactivity in BC as well as the health benefits of active living. The summary highlights common barriers to participation for Aboriginal peoples, and discusses current strategies and resources aimed at increasing participation and improving overall health outcomes for Aboriginal British Columbians.

This document offers suggested evaluation strategies for both Act Now and PVSI. To a limited degree, the document considers each program separately by illustrating the program logic underlying each effort. However, because the primary goal of both initiatives is to generate innovations that are more effective and culturally sensitive, much of the anticipated action and all of the key evaluation questions between the initiatives are shared. In addition, the conceptual and methodological issues are addressed more generally and consider data sources, collection methods and the proposed evaluation design. Therefore, both initiatives share a performance measurement table where key questions, information sources, collection strategies, roles and measurement schedules are offered.

This guide has been prepared to help Indigenous communities in BC evaluate their Aboriginal ActNow funded programs. It is hoped that community based evaluation of Aboriginal ActNow funded activities will strengthen a community’s ability to secure funding for future programs. Because there is no single or best way to evaluate Aboriginal ActNow funded activities in a way that will work for every program, this guide is intended to answer some questions about program evaluation generally and be a flexible tool that can be adapted to unique community or program needs.

This report focuses on tobacco cessation initiatives within British Columbia and Canada. Primary interest in this document is in Aboriginal-specific cessation and what constitutes a successful Aboriginal cessation strategy. An environmental scan of mainstream and Aboriginal-specific initiatives is presented. An annotated bibliography is also included, which focuses on Aboriginal-specific cessation strategies and Aboriginal cessation-related research papers. Recommendations for a successful Aboriginal cessation strategy are presented, as well as a series of important questions.

This short review has as its focus a few simple questions related to alcohol use in pregnancy and the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Specifically, it asks: 1) What do we know about FASD and intervention programs for women? 2) What kinds of programs are currently available for women in British Columbia? 3) What would an Aboriginal-specific Healthy Choices in Pregnancy program look like?

This paper supports the creation and generation of an Aboriginal-specific ActNow BC Healthy Choices in Pregnancy program. Firstly, it provides a review of both academic and non-academic literature addressing healthy pregnancies, especially alcohol use during pregnancy and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) prevention. Secondly, it provides an environmental scan of existing initiatives, programs and services in British Columbia surrounding prenatal care including FASD prevention. Finally, it presents conclusions regarding existing initiatives, programs and services as well as issues within the literature, and it provides recommendations for consideration in the development of the Aboriginal specific program.

This six-page paper briefly reviews different types of program evaluation activities, and discusses Indigenous ap-proaches and ethical guidelines for engaging in a program evaluation.

Aboriginal peoples’ experiences with the mainstream health care system can bring into play multiple issues rooted in cultural differences. These can act as barriers to meaningful exchange. Encouraging “cultural competence” in health care providers can help ensure a more responsive health care system.

Each of Canada’s indigenous population groups has a distinct history, culture, language, environment, and legal entitlement under the Canadian Constitution (1982) and the Indian Act (1876). Section 35 of the Constitution Act recognizes three distinct groups: Indian, Inuit, and Métis.

Recent data indicates that the rate of smoking for First Nations adults in Canada (59%) is three times the rate of the general population (First Nations Centre, 2005). Smoking rates for Inuit adults are even higher at 70%. Overall, smoking rates are highest among First Nations and Inuit youth between the ages of 15-24.

Traditionally, Aboriginal people led healthy, active lifestyles by hunting, fishing, gathering, cooking, preparing, and participating in traditional games and competitions such as lacrosse, wrestling, running, canoeing, archery, dancing, storytelling and singing. Although these types of activities persisted for many generations, they have become less and less common which is evident in mounting social and health issues.

In the past, the traditional diet of Aboriginal peoples consisted of foods that they could harvest and gather from the land and water around them, including fish, marine mammals, wild meat, and plants. Central to their culture and way of life, traditional foods were highly nutritious and sustained Aboriginal peoples successfully for generations.

A Healthy Start Pregnancy is a very special time in a woman’s life. This fact sheet provides an overview of healthy lifestyle choices before, during and after pregnancy that canl help a new baby get the best possible start in life.