Health Watch - February, 2016

Suicide epidemic needs to be addressed

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler issued a call to action to the governments of Ontario and Canada to establish a special emergency task force to address the growing suicide epidemic across NAN First Nations. Several NAN First Nations were thrown into crisis this Christmas season following the suicides of a 10-year-old girl in Bearskin Lake First Nation, a 20-year-old woman in Fort Albany First Nation, and a 14-year-old girl in Neskantaga First Nation.

NAN is looking for both the provincial and federal governments to commit resources for the development of crisis response teams to immediately begin to assist communities, as well as developing a long-term strategy for suicide prevention, including physical and mental health services, counselling and addiction treatment.

NAN’s call to action followed the launch of The People’s Inquiry on Suicide by the Mushkegowuk Council Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon during the NAN Winter Chiefs in Assembly in Thunder Bay. The comprehensive report documents the ongoing suicide pandemic in the Mushkegowuk communities along the James Bay coast and identifies key solutions and recommendations.

Work on Indigenous health accord to include Aboriginal input

Indigenous peoples will have a say in the planning of the national Health Accord renewal. The agreement was reached at a meeting between Indigenous leaders, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott and provincial and territorial health ministers late January in Vancouver.

Leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and ministers from the federal, provincial, territorial governments committed to developing a formal process within the broader Health Accord discussion inclusive of First Nations, Métis and Inuit to better determine how provincial, territorial and federal governments can meet health needs in their respective health systems.

“This marks an historic moment that must prompt transformative change. Our peoples require, deserve and demand stable, sustainable and culturally-appropriate access to health care no matter where they reside. We must all act now so that jurisdictional disputes no longer delay or deny care, as this only leads to deteriorating health or, tragically, death,” said Assembly of First Nations Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day, head of AFN’s health committee.

Study finds link between racial discrimination, prescription drug misuse

A new University of Lethbridge study suggests an expanded focus is needed in the fight against prescription drug addiction within Aboriginal populations. The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, found that racial discrimination and subsequent post-traumatic stress symptoms might be key factors contributing to prescription drug problems among Aboriginal people.

The study came out of data collected through in-person surveys with Aboriginal adults living in Edmonton in 2010. It found that each additional situation in which Aboriginal adults experienced racism in a one-year period – be it at work, in public spaces, or seeking health care – was associated with a half-point increase in prescription drug addiction score.

The study also found that this relationship was explained by increased PTSD symptoms among those experiencing high levels of discrimination. Multiple studies have linked racial discrimination to poor mental health and addictions as people try to cope with these experiences, as well as stress-induced endocrine dysfunction, cardiovascular dysfunction and accelerated aging across various racial groups. “The idea that racism is stressful is not new,” said Dr. Cheryl Currie, AIHS Translational Chair in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing and assistant professor in the university’s Faculty of Health Sciences. “The idea that racism may lead to symptoms of PTSD is more controversial. Yet, a growing body of research suggests individuals may respond to discrimination in ways that extend beyond their psychological control; in ways that are consistent with PTSD symptoms.”

FNHA leads way with chair position

Jeff Reading, a leading national and international expert in Indigenous health, is the inaugural First Nations Health Authority chair in heart health and wellness at St. Paul’s Hospital. The $2.5 million chair, the first of its kind in Western Canada, will place a holistic focus on First Nations and Aboriginal peoples’ cardiac health to drive research that can improve health outcomes. As chair, Reading’s responsibilities include leading research to develop protective health promotion strategies that encompass cultural and spiritual considerations, understand risk factors related to the social determinants of health, and produce health knowledge for policies and programs. The chair position was co-developed by FNHA, St. Paul’s Hospital and Simon Fraser University with shared funding to support the FNHA chair for 10 years. Reading is a Mohawk from the Tyendinaga First Nation in Ontario.

Work begins on enhancing Nutrition North Canada

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett and Parliamentary Secretary Yvonne Jones met with representatives of the Sahtu Dene and MÈtis and the Inuvialuit, Northwest Territories MP Michael McLeod, and registered Nutrition North Canada retailers on Jan. 9 to begin preliminary discussions on how to ensure that isolated northern families have access to affordable healthy food. Bennett said information from the meeting and other feedback will be taken into consideration as she and the minister of health work with northern remote communities to expand and improve the NNC program, ensuring that it is more transparent, effective, and accountable. “Through public engagement meetings in the coming months, we will be exploring and developing solutions developed by Northerners for Northerners,” said Bennett in a statement.