Health and Health Care in Northern Canada

by Rebecca Schiff (Editor), Helle Møller (Editor)

Overview

Accounting for almost two-thirds of the country’s land mass, northern Canada is a vast region, host to rich natural resources and a diverse cultural heritage shared across Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents. In this book, the authors analyse health and health care in northern Canada from a perspective that acknowledges the unique strengths, resilience, and innovation of northerners, while also addressing the challenges aggravated by contemporary manifestations of colonialism.

Old and new forms of colonial programs and policies continue to create health and health care disparities in the North. Written by individuals who live in and study the region, Health and Health Care in Northern Canada utilizes case studies, interviews, photographs, and more, to highlight the lived experiences of northerners and the primary health issues that they face. In order to maintain resilience, improve the positive outcomes of health determinants, and diminish negative stereotypes, we must ensure that northerners – and their cultures, values, strengths, and leadership – are at the centre of the ongoing work to achieve social justice and health equity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487514617
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	09/15/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	450
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rebecca Schiff is a professor and chair in the Department of Health Sciences at Lakehead University

Helle Møller is an associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Lakehead University

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures
List of Abbreviations
Foreword by Kue Young
Preface
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Health and Healthcare in Northern Canada
Rebecca Schiff and Helle Møller

Section I: Socio-Ecological Dimensions of Health and Wellness in the North

2. Introduction to Section I:
Social and Ecological Determinants of Health and Wellness in the North
Rebecca Schiff and Helle Møller

3. Education and Health
Education as a Social Determinant of Health for Inuit in Nunavut
Fiona Walton

4. Food and Health
Food security, Food Systems, and Health in Northern Canada
Rebecca Schiff and Victoria Schembri

5. Housing and Health
Housing and Health Challenges in Rural and Remote Communities
Carol Kauppi, Emily Faries, Phyllis Montgomery, Sharolyn Mossey, and Henri Pallard

6. Determinants of Infectious Diseases in the North
Agent, Host and Environmental Factors in Infectious Diseases
Pamela Orr and Linda Larcombe

7. Women’s Health
What does it mean to ‘be well’?: A qualitative case study to explore Inuit women’s conceptions of wellness
Gwen Healey Akearok, Lynn M. Meadows, Theresa Koonoo, and Kathy Michael

8. Mining, Resource Development and Health
Assessing Health Impacts of a Mine: Consideration of the Prevailing Epistemoloy and Erasure of Indigenous Well-being
Jen Jones and Lesley Johnston

Section II: Healthcare in Northern Canada

9. Introduction to Section II:
Healthcare Access and Delivery in Northern and Remote Communities
Helle Møller

10. Physician Supply and Sufficiency
 Increasing Physician Supply to Serve Canada’s Northern and Rural Populations
 Raymond Pong

11. Nursing in the North
Recruitment and Retention of Nurses
Helle Møller

12. Maternal Healthcare and Birthing
Maternal Health in Manitoba Northern First Nation Communities:
Challenges, Barriers, and Solutions
Jaime Cidro and Stephanie Sinclair

13. Elder Health and Long-Term Care
Northern Indigenous Elders/Seniors and Long-Term Care Services
Bonita Beatty and Josephine McKay

14. Mental Health and Addictions Care
A Path Toward Mental Health Care with Northern Indigenous Peoples
Azaad Kassam

15. Climate Change and Health
Remote Northern Community Health Service Provision in a Rapidly Changing Climate
Ashlee Cunsolo, Emily MacLeod, Inez Shiwak, Michele Wood, The Inuit Mental Health and Climate Change Adaptation Team, Rigolet Inuit Community Government, and Sherilee Harper

16. Suicide Prevention
A Sociocultural Approach to Understanding Suicide Among Inuit: Issues and Prevention Strategies
Josephine Tan

Section III: Conclusions and New Directions – Innovation, Collaboration, and Resilience

17. Introduction to Section III:
Conclusions and New Directions to Embrace Collaboration, Resilience, and Innovation in Northern Health and Healthcare
Rebecca Schiff

18. Youth Resilience
Resilience Among Indigenous Youth in Northern Canada
Kimberly Matheson, Ajani Asokumar, Hymie Anisman, and Janet Gordon

19. Innovation for Northern Mental Health and Addiction Services
Indigenous Frameworks for Northern Mental Health and Addiction Services
Chris Mushquash, Alexandra S. Kruse, and Elaine Toombs

20. The Evolving Role of Telemedicine and Telehealth
Telemedicine: ‘Tackle Box Emergency Kit’s’… A Journey Beyond our ‘Orbit’
Michelle Spadoni, Sally Dampier, Patricia Sevean

21. Cultural Safety Training and Education for Healthcare Providers
Unsettling Healthcare with Inuit in Canada: Cultural Safety Education for Healthcare Providers
Allison Crawford, Candice Waddell, and Christine Lund

22. Integrating Traditional Healing and Northern Healthcare
Indigenous Conceptions of Living Well
Cindy Peltier

23. Health and Healthcare Research Ethics
Health Research Ethics in Northern Canada
Fern Brunger and Brittany Chubbs

24. Rewriting Health Policy for the North
Patchy and Southern-Centric: Health Policies for Northern and Indigenous Canadians
Josée Lavoie, Derek Kornelsen, and Yvonne Boyer

25. Conclusions: Achieving Health Equity in Northern Canada

What People are Saying About This

Christopher Fletcher

"This ambitious, innovative volume is a much-needed overview of topics critical to understanding the complexity of health and health services in the Canadian North. Bringing together discussions of social and environmental determinants of health with issues of health care service delivery across territorial and provincial norths, Health and Health Care in Northern Canada presents a path to health equity and empowerment for northern peoples and institutions."

Judith C. Kulig

"This comprehensive volume is long overdue. The broad range of topics discussed by interdisciplinary experts, many with Indigenous backgrounds, identify the challenges and barriers to health equity. They also note innovation that can be used to develop solutions for enhancing health care systems and health status in this historically, politically, and culturally significant region."

Nancy L. Young

"The authors address health inequities in a factual way, with a focus on diversity and strengths. In doing so they leave space for communities to generate local solutions. This book pays tribute to the strengths and resiliency of northerners and underscores the multifactorial nature of inequities due to social, economic, geographic, and cultural factors."

Editorial Reviews

"This comprehensive volume is long overdue. The broad range of topics discussed by interdisciplinary experts, many with Indigenous backgrounds, identify the challenges and barriers to health equity. They also note innovation that can be used to develop solutions for enhancing health care systems and health status in this historically, politically, and culturally significant region."

—Judith C. Kulig, Professor Emerita, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge

"This ambitious, innovative volume is a much-needed overview of topics critical to understanding the complexity of health and health services in the Canadian North. Bringing together discussions of social and environmental determinants of health with issues of health care service delivery across territorial and provincial norths, Health and Health Care in Northern Canada presents a path to health equity and empowerment for northern peoples and institutions."

—Christopher Fletcher, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval

"The authors address health inequities in a factual way, with a focus on diversity and strengths. In doing so they leave space for communities to generate local solutions. This book pays tribute to the strengths and resiliency of northerners and underscores the multifactorial nature of inequities due to social, economic, geographic, and cultural factors."

—Nancy L. Young, Senior Scientist, CHEO Research Institute

From the Publisher