Exploring Health Priorities in First Nation Communities

Horizons worked with a sub-committee of the Tripartite Forum’s Health Working Committee to gather information on the health priorities of First Nation communities in Nova Scotia. The project’s purposes were to hold community discussions on First Nation health issues with all communities and health partners; identify current health priorities to inform health planning; explore and prioritize current priorities, and compare them with the 2005 health priorities; identify existing strengths and challenges to addressing health priorities, and what is needed to address health priorities; and share what is heard broadly among First Nation communities and health partners to inform their health planning efforts. To complete this work, we used three methods of gathering input: community engagement sessions - held in 11 of 13 First Nation communities in NS; youth web surveys; and health system web. We also worked with communities and partners to identify existing strengths and challenges to addressing health priorities, explore what is needed to address health priorities, conduct qualitative and quantitative data analysis and develop a project report and a presentation partners can use to share the findings broadly among First Nation communities and health partners to inform their health planning efforts.