Mary Josette Wabano

• Masters of Human Kinetics
• Managing Director at Nahndahweh Tchigehgamig Wikwemikong Health Centre, Wikwemikong, Ontario, Canada

Aboriginal people in Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) have a lower health status compared to the Canadian population. There is a particular concern about the mental health and wellbeing of First Nations adolescents living on reserves. Interventions following principles of outdoor education and adventure therapy appear to be an appropriate fi...

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a promising approach used with increasing prevalence in health research with underserviced Indigenous communities in rural and remote locations. This case comparison used CBPR principles to examine the characteristics of two collaborative research projects in Canada. Both projects reflected CBPR prin...

Within the motivation literature, it has been indicated that athletes respond more effectively to sport's contextual challenges through effective adaptation skills. Fiske identified five core motives as facilitators of the adaptation process across cultures: belonging, understanding, controlling, self-enhancement, and trusting. Through a cultural s...

The purpose of this study was to identify concepts of health and well-being important to Aboriginal children and youth. These concepts were necessary for the development of a culturally appropriate measure of health. We completed 4 community consultation sessions, 4 advisory committee meetings, and 6 full-day focus groups within the Wikwemikong Unc...

When attempting to work with people from Indigenous cultures, mainstream researchers often encounter cultural differences, mistrust and a general resistance to community research. These challenges have emerged within the sport psychology domain as a consequence of mono‐cultural, Eurocentric research paradigms, which have marginalised Indigenous pop...

Background: First Nations children in Canada experience health inequities. We aimed to determine whether a self-report health app identified children's needs for support earlier in their illness than would typically occur. Methods: Children (aged 8 to 18 yr) were recruited from a rural First Nation community. Children completed the Aaniish Naa G...

The Outdoor Adventure Leadership Experience (OALE) is an outdoor health promotion initiative primarily designed for youth. This program was developed through community-based participatory research in a First Nations Community in northern Ontario: Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. It is a 9- or 10-day intensive program involving a wilderness canoe exp...

BACKGROUND: The Aboriginal Children’s Health and Well-Being Measure (ACHWM©) was developed to enable Aboriginal health leaders to gather information on the health of children at a local community level. This paper aims to describe the typical health profiles of First Nation children, living on traditional territory, as a reference to assist in the...

Background There is a paucity of controlled clinical trial data based on research with Indigenous peoples. A lack of data specific to Indigenous peoples means that new therapeutic methods, such as those involving electronic health (eHealth), will be extrapolated to these groups based on research with other populations. Rigorous, ethical research ca...

BACKGROUND There is a paucity of controlled clinical trial data based on research with Indigenous peoples. A lack of data specific to Indigenous peoples means that new therapeutic methods, such as those involving electronic health (eHealth), will be extrapolated to these groups based on research with other populations. Rigorous, ethical research ca...

Health solutions for Aboriginal children should be guided by their community and grounded in evidence. This manuscript presents a prospective cohort study protocol, designed by a community-university collaborative research team. The study’s goal is to determine whether community-based screening and triage lead to earlier identification of children’...

Introduction: Aboriginal children in Canada experience significant disparities in health in comparison to their mainstream peers. As Aboriginal communities and agencies strive to improve health, it is important to measure the impact of new programs and services. Since many Aboriginal children live in rural and remote communities, it is important t...

p> OBJECTIVES: The Aboriginal Children’s Health and Well-Being Measure© (ACHWM) was developed to assess health from the perspectives of Aboriginal children. The purpose of this paper is to document the screening process, embedded within the ACHWM, and assess its effectiveness. METHODS: The ACHWM was implemented in 2014/2015 with children 8 to 18 y...

PurposeThe aim of this research was to evaluate the reliability of the Aboriginal Children’s Health and Well-Being Measure© (ACHWM). Methods Two cohorts of children from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory were recruited for this study. Each child completed the ACHWM independently on a computer tablet running a customized survey app. The data from the f...

Background: Mobile-cellular subscriptions have increased steadily over the past decade. The accessibility of SMS messages over existing mobile networks is high and has almost universal availability even on older and unsophisticated mobile phones and in geographic settings where wireless coverage is weak. There is intensive exploration of this inex...

Background: Aboriginal children experience challenges to their health and well-being, yet also have unique strengths. It has been difficult to accurately assess their health outcomes due to the lack of culturally relevant measures. The Aboriginal Children's Health and Well-Being Measure (ACHWM) was developed to address this gap. This paper describ...

Background There are emerging opportunities to improve the health of Aboriginal children and youth. The Aboriginal Children’s Health and Well-being Measure (ACHWM) was developed to enable Aboriginal communities to obtain group-level data from the perspectives of their children 8 to 18 years of age. The survey was developed in collaboration with chi...

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) and realist evaluation (RE) seem to be complimentary frameworks for Aboriginal health, and they appear to be useful approaches for adventure therapy. CBPR is a collaborative approach to program development and research that is gaining currency as an effective way to meet the needs of individual Aborigin...

It is imperative that we improve the mental health of Aboriginal youth in Canada. From an Aboriginal worldview, mental health must be approached in concert with the promotion of spiritual, physical, and emotional health. This holistic approach is concordant with the processes implicit in programs using outdoor adventure and experiential education (...

Indigenous voices are largely silent in the outdoor education and adventure therapy literature. The purpose of this research collaboration was to understand how a 10-day outdoor adventure leadership experience (OALE) may promote resilience and well-being for Indigenous youth through their participation in the program. The process was examined throu...

Non-communicable chronic diseases are the leading causes of mortality globally, and nearly 80% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In high-income countries (HICs), inequitable distribution of resources affects poorer and otherwise disadvantaged groups including Aboriginal peoples. Cardiovascular mortality in high-inco...

It is imperative that we improve the mental health of Aboriginal youth in Canada. From an Aboriginal worldview, mental health must be approached in concert with the promotion of spiritual, physical, and emotional health. This holistic approach is concordant with the processes implicit in programs using outdoor adventure and experiential education (...