Collecting Sociodemographic Data: Responding to Youth Questions
| Sociodemographic Question | Why we collect this information? |
|---|---|
Pronouns Q: My pronoun is: | Asking this question can help us to make sure we and all of our service providers are addressing youth based on how they self-identify throughout their time accessing YWHO services. |
Language: Q: I feel most comfortable receiving services in: | Asking this question can help us plan for any interpretation support, connect youth with a service provider that speaks their preferred language (if possible), and can connect youth to any newcomer and/or settlement programs and services if relevant and of interest. |
Centre Q: I found about this centre through: | Asking this question can help us understand how youth are finding out about our hub and services. We want to be able to increase our promotion and outreach strategies so that we can reach and provide services to more youth within the region. |
Immigration Q: I was born in Canada: | Asking this question can help us understand the experiences of newcomers to Canada, including what types of supports might be helpful. Many hubs have newcomer and settlement workers and programs specifically catered to newcomer and/or immigrant youth. We collect this information to be able to provide you with the best possible resources and care. |
Gender: Q: I identify as: | Having this information can help us plan for appropriate programming, staffing, training, and service provision. It helps us plan to make sure that all youth feel comfortable in our space. We can use this data to understand the experiences of gender diverse youth we work with. |
Sexual Identity/Orientation Q: I identify as: | We don’t want to assume youth’s sexual identity when we provide them with care and services. We can look at this data to ensure that all youth are getting the best care possible. |
Postal Code Q: What is your postal code? | By collecting postal code, we are able to understand what regions and/or neighbourhoods young people are coming from when accessing our services. This can help for future planning and help us identify gaps in who our hub is serving. |
Race, Culture & Ethnicity Q: How would you describe your ethnic or cultural background? | Having this information can help us plan for appropriate cultural programming, staffing, training, and service provision. |
Disability Q: Do you have any of the following disabilities? | We collect this information for us to understand the types of accommodation we need to plan for to improve access and provide better care. |
Housing Q: I currently live: | Knowing a youth’s living situation allows service providers to make connections to available and appropriate supports in the community, and housing supports at the hub, if that is something you are interested in. |
Student Status Q: I am a student: | We collect this information because it allows us to better understand the support needs that may be required by a youth. |
Occupation Q: I have a job | Asking this question allows us to better understand the support needs that may be required by a youth, and to ask appropriate questions in order to connect youth with an employment counsellor. |
Income Q: My main sources of income are | We ask this question because we want to understand the link between income, access to, and experiences with our service. |
Household Income Q: What was your total family income before last year? And how many people does this income support? | This part of the question gives us a better approximate of the socio-economic status, example: 50k salary for 2 people, vs 6 people is very different. |
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