As a mental health agency leader, you can help us gather information about participants’ experiences in Mood Walks, and provide us with your experience as a Mood Walks host.
Here are some details about some of the evaluation tools we are providing, all of which are contained in the “Mood Walks Evaluation Tools” section of the website.
Participants’ Pre-Program and Follow-up Questionnaires
These questionnaires, which participants complete before and after 10 weeks of walks, will help us discover how and if participants’ physical and mental health, beliefs about physical activity and nature, and confidence in their hiking ability change over the course of 10 weeks of walking.
These questionnaires ask participants about their goal for participating in Mood Walks. For information about how to support participants in setting goals, see “Goal-Setting.”
The Pre-Program Questionnaire should be completed before your group begins walks, perhaps during an orientation session (see “A Sample Orientation Session”). The Follow-up Questionnaire is to be completed after 10 weeks of walking, regardless of whether your group continues or not. It could be completed as part of your Mood Walks Follow-up Focus Group.
Components of the Pre-Program and Follow-up Questionnaires
These questionnaires are each comprised of three parts: the SF-12v2 Health Survey, the Nature Relatedness Scale, and some additional questions. All three sections should be provided to participants stapled together, with a cover page indicating the date and Participant ID.
Here is more information about the three components of these questionnaires:
SF-12v2™ Health Survey
SF-12v2 Health Survey is a brief, standardized tool that tracks changes in functional health and well-being from the respondent’s point of view. It is widely used and valid across a range of ages and populations. It provides summary measures of both physical and mental health by assessing eight health domains:
- Physical Functioning
- Impact of Physical Health on Role
- Bodily Pain
- General Health
- Vitality
- Social Functioning
- Impact of Emotional Health on Role
- Mental Health
The SF-12v2 takes about 2-3 minutes to complete, and can be self-administered or interview-administered. More information about the SF-12v2 can be found at sf-36.org.
Nature Relatedness Scale
The Nature Relatedness Scale measures cognitive, affective, and physical connectedness with the natural world. People who experience nature relatedness:
- Feel connected to nature
- Understand the importance of all aspects of nature
- Are concerned with how human actions impact living things
- Are familiar with and comfortable in the natural world
- Desire to be out in nature
- Are aware of and fascinated with nature around them
The brief version of the Nature Relatedness Scale is included in the Mood Walks questionnaire. It takes about 2-3 minutes to complete and can be self-administered or interview-administered. More information about the Nature Relatedness Scale can be found at naturerelatedness.ca.
Additional Questions
The remaining questions are concerned with participants’ perceived abilities, beliefs, and behaviours regarding walking and physical activity, as well as their goal for participating in Mood Walks.
Sign-In for Participants
Participants can rate their mood, anxiety, and energy level before and after each walk, and can also jot down the first word that comes to their mind after a walk.
Leader’s Tracking
As the group leader, you can report on group attendance, details about your walk, your observations about participants, and any unfavourable incidents that may have occurred.
Mood Walks Follow-up Focus Group
The purpose of this focus session is to get an understanding of participants’ experiences in Mood Walks. A focus-group format ensures that all participants, including those who may have limited literacy skills, have an opportunity to express their views. The focus group should take about half an hour, with three main areas to explore:
- Reactions to Mood Walks
- The impact of Mood Walks participation
- Suggestions for how Mood Walks could be improved
The Mood Walks Follow-up Focus Group form provides a guiding question for each section, followed by several prompts you could use to facilitate discussion.
The closing question, “Would you participate in Mood Walks again?” can be a good opportunity to go around the room and get a response from each participant, since some participants may be less forthcoming in a group setting.
Final Mood Walks Report
The final Mood Walks report allows us to gather information about your experience with Mood Walks. The report asks for specifics about your group and how it was implemented, your experience with project partners, your feedback on Mood Walks resources, and the impacts that participating in the project may have had on your agency. You may find it useful to fill in the form as your group progresses, when the information is fresh in your mind.
