A Delphi study and development of a social and emotional wellbeing screening tool for Australian First Nations Peoples living in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of Australia

by Kathryn Meldrum, Valda Wallace, Torres Webb, Lynne Ridgway, Rachel Quigley, Edward Strivens, Sarah G. Russell

Tools screening depression and anxiety developed using the Western biomedical paradigm are still used with First Nations Peoples globally, despite calls for cross-cultural adaption. Recent work by this research team found that tools used to screen for depression and anxiety were inappropriate for use with Australian First Nations Peoples living in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area of Australia. The objective of this Delphi study, the second phase of a broader four-phase project, was to gain consensus from an expert mental health and/or social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) panel to inform the development of an appropriate screening tool. This Delphi study took place between March and May 2023. Three sequential rounds of anonymous online surveys delivered using Qualtrics^TM were planned, although only two were needed to reach 75% consensus. The first round sought consensus on whether a new screening tool needed to be developed or whether existing tools could be used. The second round achieved consensus. Twenty-eight experts (47% response rate) participated across the two Delphi rounds. In the second round, 83% of these experts agreed or strongly agreed that a new screening tool, using the holistic First Nations concept of social and emotional wellbeing, be developed. Ninety-four percent of them agreed that it should take a Yarning approach. These findings enabled the development of a new SEWB screening tool that adopted a Yarning (narrative) approach designed for use in primary care and geriatric settings in the region. The new tool has four different Yarning areas: Community engagement and behaviour; Stress worries; Risk; and Feeling strong. Guidelines for tool use are integrated as well as Summary and Recommendation sections. At a macro-level this project responds to the need for new screening tools that are underpinned by First Nations worldviews.