When it comes to delivering quality services to Ontario’s youth, keeping up to date on the latest evidence and knowledge is essential. Cailin Mulvihill, Data analyst, with the Maltby Centre located in Kingston, knows all about this important challenge. That’s why she developed a one-page summary of the latest findings from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey about home life, school life, physical health and mental health for her colleagues.

Question 1 - Why did you decide it was important to share this information from this report with your team?

Cailin: We were using the data for other work in our organization, but in going through the full report we found a lot that would be of interest to direct service providers. We thought this would be of interest for them to know and useful information for their practice.  When compared with the full length report, we thought a summary might be something they would have more interest in reading and would make it easier for them to share that information with others.

Question 2 -   How did you go about producing this summary?

Cailin: We had read through the bulk of the report for another project, but after reading the first few pages it was clear that some of this information would definitely be of interest to our staff.  We highlighted the most interesting and relevant parts and put them together under headings similar to those used in the full report. 

Question 3 – What tools were required for this project?

Cailin: I used Piktochart to create this document. There is a free version available but it has some limitations. There is a discount available for non-profit organizations that is quite reasonable. With this account you can download your work in high resolution as either a JPEG, PNG, or PDF file. Another benefit is that you can create graphs and easily add graphics in the document.

In the past, I have also used Canva for similar projects. Although there are some limitations, you can download high quality images and PDF files with the free account.

Question 4 - What helped you in completing this work?

Cailin: I had some former training/education in knowledge transfer and experience using online tools. However, it’s worth mentioning that both tools are very user-friendly for those who haven’t used them before.

Question 5 - What challenges did you encounter?

Cailin: It’s a very long report, so choosing what data to include for all of the staff was a hard choice. Our staff work in diverse environments with diverse clients depending on their position, so it’s difficult to know what will be relevant for everyone. We worked alongside other colleagues to help us decide what information to include.  

Question 6 - How did this help staff?

Cailin: It’s not necessarily the kind of report that they would come across in their day-to-day work, but it contained interesting and useful information about the population they work with.

re: the value/use of what Cailin created:

“My team found this accessible and informed one pager helped them stay current and was also useful in sharing information with the youth they serve,” highlights Margo Beach, supervisor of a counselling team at Maltby Centre.

If you’re curious to check out the one pager that Cailin created, you can access it here:

Want to know more? Contact us.