Métis health profiled in survey research project

The Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (MNS) has partnered with the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and the First Nations University of Canada (FNUC) to develop a research survey about Métis health and well-being.
“The research was community based using the oral aspect of Métis culture to develop the research,” said Dr. Vivian Ramsden, associate professor in the research department at the U of S, adding that Métis communities were also consulted about the results in a very user-friendly manner.

This is an important survey for the MNS because there has not been a lot of Métis focused research in Saskatchewan dealing with Métis health.

The survey was brought together using qualitative and quantitative research methods and was conducted by the 23 Métis field interviewers in the 12 Métis regions of the province.  The 23 interviewers met with over 1400 Métis citizens between February and June of 2009 and asked them health related questions.

The unique aspect of this survey is the community participatory research methods utilized at the local level.
 “This is an extremely important study, so it was necessary to include participation from Métis communities in the 12 different regions,” said Gabe Lafond, MNS Director of Health.

“The survey was a community driven process to empower the Métis individuals to address their health in the province”.

Currently, there is programming for both First Nations and Inuit peoples, but nothing exists for addressing Métis health.

The U of S played a large role in the survey by writing a proposal to the ethics board, looking for outcomes in the research and writing the final report.  The MNS was involved in every step of the process through strong collaboration between all the partners.

This research highlights the concerns of Métis communities about their health and provides government, municipalities and business with the data for identifying the issues.

According to preliminary results released by the MNS, the survey determined that 33.9% of Métis people surveyed have high blood pressure, 19.8% have high cholesterol, 15.7% have diabetes, 10.6% have heart disease and 65.5% were listed as misusing tobacco (smoking, cigarettes, cigars or a pipe). These results portray that Métis citizens generally have poorer health then the national average. The data is important because it provides solid documentation on Métis people to potentially gain necessary programming to address health.

“This has been an amazing journey, with the results from the research, it is important to go to the next steps and start implementing programs,” said Dr. Ramsden. Lafond added that based on the findings it is evident that the province and the federal government must come to the table with the MNS to find a solution for health issues and prevention programs in Métis communities, or areas with large Métis populations.