Developing a coordinated Canadian post-secondary surveillance system: a Delphi survey to identify measurement priorities for the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS)

BACKGROUND: Interventions that promote health and wellbeing among young adults are needed. Such interventions, however, require measurement tools that support intervention planning, monitoring and evaluation. The primary purpose of this study is to describe the process in developing a framework for a Canadian post-secondary health surveillance tool known as the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS). METHODS: Nineteen health service providers or mental health experts from 5 Canadian provinces participated in a 3-round Delphi survey by email and an in-person roundtable meeting to identify wellbeing and health behavior measurement priorities and indicators for the CCWS. RESULTS: The final CCWS framework consisted of 9 core sections: mental health assets, student experience, mental health deficits, health service utilization/help seeking, physical health/health behaviors, academic achievement, substance use, nutrition, and sexual health behavior. Panelists generally agreed on a set of indicators, and reached consensus for at least one indicator per core section. CONCLUSION: This CCWS framework is the first step in developing a common surveillance mechanism tailored to the Canadian postsecondary context. Future work will include online consultation with health service providers from a broader range of post-secondary institutions, an in-person meeting with research and measurement experts to finalize survey items, and formative testing. The CCWS will play a valuable role in developing population health initiatives targeting the increasing number of young Canadians attending postsecondary institutions.