Measuring Wellness Through Indigenous Partnerships: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Indigenous Studies
• Public Health
• Health Equity

Background:

• Existing wellness indicators often reflect Western perspectives, creating a gap in measuring Indigenous wellness through an Indigenous lens.
• Diverse Indigenous Peoples have rich conceptualizations of wellness, yet contemporary measurement tools are lacking.
• There is a need to identify and develop wellness measures that are co-developed with and reflect Indigenous voices and worldviews.

Approach:

• A scoping review methodology was employed to identify wellness measures developed through Indigenous partnerships.
• Systematic searches were conducted across multiple academic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Psych Info, Academic Search Complete, SocIndex, Native Health Database).
• A two-stage screening process identified 18 relevant papers, followed by content analysis to categorize partnership contexts and developed measures.

Key Points:

• Five main categories emerged: upholding Indigenous worldviews, co-development protocols, acknowledging measurement limitations, importance of community-specific context, and strengths-based indicators.
• Building relationships that honor Indigenous worldviews is crucial for effective wellness measurement.
• Co-development protocols that integrate multiple worldviews are essential for creating culturally safe and relevant measures.

Conclusions:

• Governments, organizations, and research partners must support co-development of engagement protocols for Indigenous wellness measurement.
• Prioritizing Indigenous voices and perspectives in the development of wellness indicators is paramount.
• Future research should focus on strengths-based, community-specific indicators developed through equitable partnerships.