Developing the Five Factors Survey: an Innovation in Multigenerational, Culturally Responsive Case Management

Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. (CITC), a nonprofit social service organization serving Alaska Native and American Indian people residing in southcentral Alaska, has developed a survey instrument to assist clients in reaching their full potential. The “Five Factors Survey” asks clients (referred to at CITC as “participants”) to respond to questions regarding five different domains affecting their lives—financial stability, education and training, healthy lifestyles, healthy relationships, and cultural and spiritual wellness—so that they are able to prioritize and pursue their own self-defined goals. This tool has been developed over the course of six years, with input from multiple interviews and focus groups with staff, a contracted national literature review, consultation with a number of national organizations, and, most importantly and decisively, the advice and counsel of our participants.