Details of mental wellness app for First Nations youth provided at Mississauga conference
By Sam Laskaris
MISSISSAUGA – Donna Keogh, who is a registered nurse, continues to provide valuable services to First Nations.
Keogh previously worked at remote fly-in First Nations in Northern Ontario.
These days, she is the director of nursing and Indigenous business development for TryCycle Data Systems.
Keogh attended the Chiefs of Ontario Early Learning & Child Care Conference, which was held Oct. 2-3 in Mississauga, to provide details on Buddy’s Quest, one of TryCycle’s initiatives.
Buddy’s Quest is the first gamified mental wellness app created for Indigenous youth. Keogh said youth themselves were instrumental in the creation of the app.
“We listened to the youth,” Keogh said during her conference presentation. “They gave us great feedback. They gave us some altering feedback. And we designed it so they would be interested.”
Buddy’s Quest is aimed at those aged seven to 14 and up. Keogh explained that the app has various categories that come up as questions.
“Once they answer it, then they can move forward,” she said. “It has culture questions, fun questions, serious questions. And they even have an option to chat if they want to.”
Buddy’s Quest features a total of 87 levels that one can go through.
“Buddy the Bear guides them all the way,” Keogh said. “He reminds them that everybody struggles.”
Buddy asks youth if they would like to chat with a peer. They can choose to respond with ‘Sure’ or ‘Not Now’.
Keogh said the app is rather valuable as it allows youth to talk to someone if they are not comfortable talking to a parent or teacher.
“At the end of the day, you have data,” she said. “You have that information. You can look at what’s going on with your children.”
Keogh said Buddy’s Quest was first introduced in Saskatchewan and now more than 70 First Nations in the province are using the app. First Nations in other provinces, including Ontario, are now also on board.
“The cool thing about this is there’s a dashboard,” Keogh said. “And the Nation owns it and you can see what’s going on – what categories are having more people than the other.”
Data that is compiled includes what time of day that youth are using the app, whether it be morning, evening, or in the middle of the night.
“We need to look at that as well,” Keogh said.
She added that all compiled data from the app can then be taken and copied into a PowerPoint or given to an organization that does funding.
Keogh said valuable knowledge can be gained from the app.
“It has all the information you need to show what’s happening in your Nation,” she said.
Keogh added that it is rather simple for a First Nation to implement the app for its members.
“It takes about an hour to learn the program,” she said. “And within a day, you’ll be signed up and have it running in your community.”
More information about the app is available at buddysquest.com/.