“That’s What the Program Is All about… Building Relationships”: Exploring Experiences in an Urban Offering of the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program in Canada

Abstract

Peer mentorship is an effective approach for delivering health promotion programs that may be particularly useful among underrepresented populations. Advancing the peer-led approach, the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP) is a communal-led program rooted in Indigenous values aimed at the promotion of healthy lifestyles in children and youth. The program includes layers of multi-age mentoring (i.e., elementary students, high school student mentors, and young adult health leaders [YAHLs]) and incorporates three core components: physical activity, healthy eating, and cultural teachings. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore elementary student, mentor, and YAHL experiences in an urban IYMP offering. Eleven sharing circles were conducted; six with elementary students (n = 23; grade 4 and 5 students), two with mentors (n = 3; students enrolled in a grade 10 wellness girls class), and three with YAHLs (n = 6; undergraduate university students). Focus groups were also held with respective school teachers and principals. An inductive content analysis generated three themes that represent the perceived impacts of this urban IYMP offering: (1) Fostering Wellness, (2) Strengthening Meaningful Connections, and (3) Exploring Leadership. Findings are positioned within a communal mentorship framework that is circular and multi-directional. By bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, this program offering supports Indigenous cultural relevance in an urban-based wellness program.

Factors that sustain indigenous youth mentoring programs: a qualitative systematic review

“…After the removal of duplicates, 55,760 records were screened, 55,466 records were excluded by titles, and 286 were excluded by abstract. Six papers from Canada [38][39][40][41][42][43] and two in Australia [44,45] were included in this review. Characteristics of included papers are summarized in Table 1.…”

Preliminary Effectiveness of a Strategy to Promote Healthy Lifestyle Habits in Schoolchildren

“…The “Prosalud” strategy, in addition to addressing the issues of the schoolchild’s own development, generated synergies with their context, seeking the development of leadership in the school, like Fergusson et al (2021) [ 45 ].…”

Évaluer les besoins de mentorat pour les personnes noires dans les programmes de résidence au Canada

“…Par ailleurs, les programmes destinés aux étudiantes et étudiants autochtones du Canada montrent les bienfaits du mentorat, en particulier lorsqu'il est adapté à la culture autochtone dans son approche, son contenu et ses présuppositions. Il a été démontré que ces programmes renforcent la confiance en soi et le sentiment d'appartenance 15,16,21 . On peut citer en exemple le modèle de mentorat autochtone fondé sur la technique des incidents critiques de Flanagan, qui, à la différence du mentorat conventionnel, repose sur l'identité, l'éthique, la culture et la défense des droits autochtones, et la sensibilisation au racisme.…”