Community perspectives on COVID-19 outbreak and public health: Inuit positive protective pathways and lessons for Indigenous public health theory.

IF 2.9 4区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Canadian Journal of Public Health-Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique Pub Date : 2024-06-01 Epub Date: 2024-04-23 DOI:10.17269/s41997-024-00863-z

Gwen K Healey Akearok, Zoha Rana

{"title":"Community perspectives on COVID-19 outbreak and public health: Inuit positive protective pathways and lessons for Indigenous public health theory.","authors":"Gwen K Healey Akearok, Zoha Rana","doi":"10.17269/s41997-024-00863-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Objectives: Indigenous public health theory and the voices of Canadian Indigenous communities remain under-represented in the literature despite the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, and the perspectives of Inuit are further under-represented in this literature. The goal of this paper is to explore the perspectives of Iqalungmiut (people of Iqaluit), frontline staff, and decision-makers on the management of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iqaluit in April to June 2021 and to identify lessons learned and contributions to public health policy and practice specific to Inuit populations in Canada.Methods: This study used the Piliriqatigiinniq Community Health Research Model which was developed by Nunavummiut to guide community-based health and well-being research. Interviews were conducted with 44 individuals: 22 community members and shelter users; 17 frontline workers; and 5 decision-makers representing municipal and territorial government. Participants were asked about their experiences during the outbreak, sources of information, and strengths and challenges during outbreak management.Results: Challenges included overcrowding, physical disconnection from family members, and mental health and trauma. Community-identified strengths included strong interagency cooperation, food hamper and COVID-19 care kit deliveries, and travel restrictions. Several Inuit positive health-protective pathways were identified including Ilaginniq; Silativut; Inuuqatigiittiarniq; Piliriqatigiinniq; Ikajurniq; and Pijitsirniq.Conclusion: Outbreaks of infectious illness are not new to Nunavut communities and Inuit protective pathways have and continue to be critical avenues to adapt to and mitigate such challenges. This exploratory study provides clear direction for Inuit public health policy and practice in Canada, while contributing to the body of literature on Indigenous public health theory.","PeriodicalId":51407,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Public Health-Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique","volume":" ","pages":"395-407"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11133288/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Journal of Public Health-Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-024-00863-z","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/4/23 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: Indigenous public health theory and the voices of Canadian Indigenous communities remain under-represented in the literature despite the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, and the perspectives of Inuit are further under-represented in this literature. The goal of this paper is to explore the perspectives of Iqalungmiut (people of Iqaluit), frontline staff, and decision-makers on the management of the COVID-19 outbreak in Iqaluit in April to June 2021 and to identify lessons learned and contributions to public health policy and practice specific to Inuit populations in Canada.

Methods: This study used the Piliriqatigiinniq Community Health Research Model which was developed by Nunavummiut to guide community-based health and well-being research. Interviews were conducted with 44 individuals: 22 community members and shelter users; 17 frontline workers; and 5 decision-makers representing municipal and territorial government. Participants were asked about their experiences during the outbreak, sources of information, and strengths and challenges during outbreak management.

Results: Challenges included overcrowding, physical disconnection from family members, and mental health and trauma. Community-identified strengths included strong interagency cooperation, food hamper and COVID-19 care kit deliveries, and travel restrictions. Several Inuit positive health-protective pathways were identified including Ilaginniq; Silativut; Inuuqatigiittiarniq; Piliriqatigiinniq; Ikajurniq; and Pijitsirniq.

Conclusion: Outbreaks of infectious illness are not new to Nunavut communities and Inuit protective pathways have and continue to be critical avenues to adapt to and mitigate such challenges. This exploratory study provides clear direction for Inuit public health policy and practice in Canada, while contributing to the body of literature on Indigenous public health theory.

查看原文本刊更多论文

社区对 COVID-19 爆发和公共卫生的看法：因纽特人的积极保护途径和对土著公共卫生理论的启示。

目标：尽管加拿大发出了 "真相与和解行动呼吁"，但原住民公共卫生理论和加拿大原住民社区的声音在文献中的代表性仍然不足，因纽特人的观点在这些文献中的代表性进一步不足。本文旨在探讨伊魁特人（Iqalungmiut）、一线工作人员和决策者对 2021 年 4 月至 6 月伊魁特 COVID-19 疫情管理的看法，并总结经验，为加拿大因纽特人特有的公共卫生政策和实践做出贡献：本研究采用了 Piliriqatigiinniq 社区健康研究模型，该模型由努纳武米人开发，用于指导基于社区的健康和福祉研究。研究人员对 44 人进行了访谈，其中包括 22 名社区成员和庇护所使用者、17 名一线工作人员以及 5 名代表市政和地区政府的决策者。访谈内容包括疫情爆发期间的经历、信息来源以及疫情管理过程中的优势和挑战：挑战包括过度拥挤、与家人失去联系、心理健康和创伤。社区认可的优势包括机构间的紧密合作、食品篮和 COVID-19 护理包的运送以及旅行限制。还发现了一些因纽特人积极的健康保护途径，包括 Ilaginniq、Silativut、Inuuqatigiittiarniq、Piliriqatigiinniq、Ikajurniq 和 Pijitsirniq：传染病的爆发对努勒维特社区来说并不陌生，因纽特人的保护途径已经并将继续成为适应和减轻此类挑战的重要途径。这项探索性研究为加拿大因纽特人的公共卫生政策和实践提供了明确的方向，同时也为有关土著公共卫生理论的文献做出了贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Canadian Journal of Public Health-Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

4.70%

发文量

128

期刊介绍： The Canadian Journal of Public Health is dedicated to fostering excellence in public health research, scholarship, policy and practice. The aim of the Journal is to advance public health research and practice in Canada and around the world, thus contributing to the improvement of the health of populations and the reduction of health inequalities. CJPH publishes original research and scholarly articles submitted in either English or French that are relevant to population and public health. CJPH is an independent, peer-reviewed journal owned by the Canadian Public Health Association and published by Springer. Énoncé de mission La Revue canadienne de santé publique se consacre à promouvoir l’excellence dans la recherche, les travaux d’érudition, les politiques et les pratiques de santé publique. Son but est de faire progresser la recherche et les pratiques de santé publique au Canada et dans le monde, contribuant ainsi à l’amélioration de la santé des populations et à la réduction des inégalités de santé. La RCSP publie des articles savants et des travaux inédits, soumis en anglais ou en français, qui sont d’intérêt pour la santé publique et des populations. La RCSP est une revue indépendante avec comité de lecture, propriété de l’Association canadienne de santé publique et publiée par Springer.