Health Watch - September 2013

Dene Nation offer first Aboriginal endorsement of health document

The Dene Nation has become the first Aboriginal group to officially endorse the document Principles to Guide Health Care Transformation in Canada. Released in July, the Canadian Medical Association report What Makes Us Sick? calls for a comprehensive strategy and associated investments by the federal government to improve the health of Aboriginal peoples, in partnership with non-governmental organizations and Aboriginal communities. “In order to make progress and to improve the health of First Nations communities across Canada, strong principles are needed,” said Dene Nation Chief Bill Erasmus in a news release. The Dene Nation consists of 30 communities. In total, 131 organizations support the proposed changes.

Construction to begin on private hospital

Construction is expected to begin shortly on the Okanagan Integrated Medical Centre, a first-of-its-kind in Canada private hospital. “All the work is being done to get this medical centre up and running,” Westbank First Nation Chief Robert Louie told the Kelowna Capital News. “We have a lot of partnerships – close to several hundred millions of dollars at stake here.” The 200,000 square-foot facility, estimated to cost $125 million, will contain 100 beds and focus on all medical services except emergency, obstetrics and psychiatric care. Foreign medical tourists and Canadians, who would leave the country to receive expedited private healthcare, are expected to make use of the facility. Louie anticipates a partnership with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, which currently has branches in five continents. The facility should be operational in late 2015 or early 2016. There is some concern whether the facility contravenes the Canada Health Act and whether the federal government may take legal action. Nothing has happened to date.

Professor to develop models of primary care for Manitoba First Nations

University of Manitoba Professor Alan Katz has received $2.5 million over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study and develop models of primary care to best serve Manitoba’s First Nation communities, as well as rural and remote communities throughout the province. Katz’s project – Innovation in Community Based Primary Healthcare Supporting Transformation in the Health of First Nations and Rural/remote Manitoba Communities: iPHIT -will be done in partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Past studies suggest that these isolated locations, which are often socio-economically disadvantaged, have to make use of policy decisions made with urban centres in mind and this may contribute to negative health outcomes. Katz and his team will compare communities with different governance models (federal, provincial and self-governance models) and compare communities with better health outcomes to those with worse outcomes. They will then work with the participating communities and an advisory group of Elders and international experts to propose innovative local models of care that can improve the health of the communities. The final stage will include an evaluation of the implementation of some of these new models of care.

Impact of social, economic stressors on Aboriginal adults

Researchers at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta are examining how social and economic adversity faced by Aboriginal peoples may affect their biological health. This first of its kind study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will be co-led by public health researcher Dr. Cheryl Currie, kinesiology researcher Dr. Jennifer Copeland, and neuroscientist Dr. Gerlinde Metz. Working together with the Aboriginal community in southern Alberta, this cross-disciplinary team will examine how a range of factors – including adverse childhood experiences, poverty, unemployment, single parenthood, living in overcrowded housing and racial discrimination – impact the stress response and biological functioning among Aboriginal adults living in the Lethbridge area. The study will also build on past research by Currie indicating that Aboriginal cultural practices promote resilience against alcohol and drug abuse within Aboriginal populations. In this new study, the team will examine the extent to which Aboriginal cultural practices may promote biologic resilience and improve health. Further, the study will examine the ways in which western approaches to wellness, such as regular physical activity, may also promote resiliency in these populations.

First Aboriginal health centre to receive Baby-Friendly accreditation

The Kanesatake Health Centre is the first Aboriginal health center in North America to receive accreditation under the UNICEF/WHO’s Baby-Friendly Initiative. The BFI was established in 1991 by W.H.O/UNICEF to encourage maternity hospitals to implement the 10 steps to successful breastfeeding in accordance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. Since then, many studies have shown that breastfeeding and a strong mother-baby bond is the foundation for a baby’s future health and wellbeing. In Aboriginal communities, it also helps revitalize traditional intergenerational teachings of women and heal the wrongs left by residential schools on parenting skills. “We are determined to not only empower our own community, but to empower other First Nations communities by providing culturally-sensitive support, training and resources. We believe that by encouraging other First Nations to become “Baby Friendly” it will strengthen our nation’s overall health and wellbeing and lay the foundation for the next seven generations, Joyce Bonspiel-Nelson, executive director of the Kanesatake Health Centre, said in a news release.