Maisie Thomas and the Nome Nugget reported on recent steps to refine and improve the data collection tools that will measure the success of the project. She writes:
“Norton Sound Health Corporation and Kawerak Wellness collaborated with researchers from the University of Massachusetts to distribute a survey about suicide prevention in Nome on June 26. This effort is part of the Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide, or PC CARES, program.
The ‘Steps Toward Prevention Survey’ is an initial step in the project, which will continue for four more years in the Bering Strait region.
PC CARES Research Fellow Tara Schmidt explained that the main purpose of the surveys distributed in Nome was to gather feedback about the survey itself to help researchers better understand what works in the region. Researchers will make changes and polish the surveys before distributing them in five villages this fall.”