FOCUS on Wellness: A Strength-based Indicator Tool for First Nations Health

FOCUS on Wellness: A Strength-Based Indicator Tool for First Nations is a tool that was developed for First Nations by First Nations. It is a useful and practical tool, facilitating more meaningful and culturally relevant methods in program planning and evaluation. 
 
Using a community-led approach, it describes what indicators are, explains why they are important, outlines key qualities of effective indicators, provides suggestions on how to choose them, and offers hundreds of samples. It also introduces a process, using the acronym FOCUS to guide you through the stages. The FOCUS approach outlines the key stages and main activities within each. 
 
Indicators can help measure how well programs are doing and how they are meeting a community's goals and objectives. If indicators are chosen carefully, they can provide important information on both individual health and community health.
 
While the focus of this tool is health, the approach can be applied in any community context. We hope it is useful and that you can tailor it to become a part of your own community toolbox for continuous quality improvement.