Table 2 Summary of Indigenous mental health surveys from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States

Aboriginal People’s Survey (Canada) [30]

2006

61,041

Sample was selected from individuals who reported Aboriginal identity, Aboriginal ancestry, registered Indian status, or Indian band membership on the 2006 Census questionnaire; questions were administered in telephone interviews and personal interviews and responses were recorded on paper

The target population was composed of all people living in Canada who have North American Indian, Métis or Inuit identity or ancestry, excluding people living in Indian settlements or on-reserves; adult age range: 15+

The aim of the survey was to identify the needs of Canadian Aboriginal people, including their health needs; other focus areas included language, employment, income, schooling, housing and mobility

Aboriginal People’s Survey (Canada) [31]

2012

~28,410

Sample was selected from individuals who reported Aboriginal identity, Aboriginal ancestry, registered Indian status or Indian band membership in the 2011 National Household Survey; questions were administered in telephone interviews and personal interviews and responses were recorded on a computer

The target population was composed of the Aboriginal identity population of Canada living in private dwellings, excluding people living on Indian reserves and settlements and in certain First Nations communities in Yukon and the Northwest Territories; adult age range: 15+

The aim of the survey was to identify the needs of Canadian Aboriginal people, including their health needs; other focus areas included language, employment, income, schooling, housing and mobility

American Indian Services Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project (AI-SUPERPFP; United States) [35]

1997–1999

3084

Individuals were randomly selected from tribal rolls; trained tribal members interviewed participants face-to-face; data collection was computer assisted

The AI-SUPERPFP was a large-scale, multi-stage, cross-sectional study of the prevalence of DSM disorders and help-seeking behaviour among two of the larger tribes in the United States (Southwest and Northern Plains Indians); age range: 15–54

The authors identified five aims of the survey: 1. To measure the prevalence of major DSM disorders (including culture-specific syndromes) among two Native American tribes 2. To measure service use for mental health, including the use of services provided by the Indian Health Service, other biomedical service providers, and by traditional medicine men and/or healers 3. To examine the relationships between stress, mediators, psychiatric morbidity and predisposing factors 4. Compare the survey’s results with similar data gathered in other studies 5. Gather ethnographic information that will allow cultural contextualisation of the results

Arizona Health Survey (United States) [37]

2010

~319 (number of Native American or American Indian respondents)

Participants were selected by a random digit dial method on landlines; interviews were conducted by telephone and data collection was computer assisted

The survey sample is representative of Arizona’s non-institutionalised population living in households with landline telephones; the sample was geographically stratified to represent Maricopa County and the remainder of Arizona

The aim of the survey was to collect information on the health and health-related behaviours, access to healthcare, and various health-related demographic, social and environmental factors of the Arizona population; regarding service use specifically, the survey aimed to collect information on: • Community strengths, resources, barriers to care and need for care • Attitudes toward prevention and utilisation

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS; Australia) [34]

2012–2013

~12,900

Sample was selected using stratified multi-stage sampling from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dwellings identified from 2006 and 2011 Census data; information was collected by face-to-face interviews

The AATSIHS aimed to be a nationally representative survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were residents of private dwellings in remote and non-remote areas throughout Australia; adult age range: 18+

The aim of the survey was to collect information on the health status and related demographics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including: • The health of the population, including the existence of chronic health conditions • Health risk factors • Use of health services such as consultations with health practitioners and other help-seeking behaviour • Demographic and socioeconomic factors

California Health Interview Survey (Adult) (United States) [36]

2013–2014

574 (number of American Indian or Alaska Native respondents)

Participants were selected by a random digit dial method on cell phones and landlines; interviews were conducted by telephone

Survey data provides population-based estimates for California’s American Indian and Alaska Native population; age range: 18+

The aim of the survey was to collect information on the health status and healthcare access issues of the population of California, including: • Health status, conditions and behaviours, including mental and dental health • Access to and use of health services • Neighbourhood and housing • Food environment • Health insurance • Eligibility for public programmes • Employment and income

The First Nations Regional Health Survey – Adult (Canada) [32]

2002–2003

22,602

First Nations fieldworkers were trained to administer the surveys within their communities, usually in the respondent’s home in face-to-face interviews; data collection was computer assisted

The survey sample was designed to represent the First Nations population living in First Nations communities in all provinces and territories, except Nunavut; overall, 216 communities were included and 5.3% of the target population was surveyed; adult age range: 18+

The aim of the survey was to improve First Nations’ research capacity, and generate health information usable and interpretable from a First Nations’ perspective; the survey was designed to collect information on: • Community needs • Services provided within First Nations communities • Associated factors, underlying causal relationships, motivations for specific behaviours and how changes over time influence health and wellness

New Zealand Mental Health Survey (New Zealand) [23]

2003–2004

2595 (number of respondents of Māori ethnicity)

Households were randomly selected and then an individual within the household was randomly selected; interviews were conducted face-to-face and responses were collected on a computer

The survey design was for a nationally representative sample of people living in permanent private dwellings throughout New Zealand; to improve the precision of estimates for Māori and Pacific people, oversampling was used; age range: 16+

The aims of the survey were to: • Describe the prevalence rates of major mental disorders overall and by social and demographic factors of the New Zealand population • Describe the disability burden associated with mental disorder • Describe and compare patterns of health service use and barriers to care for people with mental disorders, specifically patterns related to ethnicity and sociodemographic correlates

The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey (Canada) [33]

2004

1006

The survey was conducted using a complex two-stage stratified random sampling; the first stage was to select a stratified random sample of private Inuit households with proportional allocation, in the second stage, all eligible people were asked to participate according to the survey steps or instruments; the survey was based on self-administered and interviewer-completed questionnaires

The target population of the survey was permanent residents of Nunavik, excluding residents of collective dwellings and households in which there were no Inuit aged 18 years and over; age range: 15+

The aim of the survey was to collect social and health information on the Canadian Inuit population, including information on various health indicators, physical measurements, and information on social, environmental and living conditions; regarding service use specifically, the survey aimed to collect information on: • Inuit health service use and use of certain medications • Preventative behaviour • Perceptions of health and well-being among the Inuit