Aboriginal health in canada

Aboriginal health in canada

• 1.
  Aboriginal Canadian Health
• 3.
   First Nations,Inuit and Métis people roughly 4% of Canada's population (Statscan, 2006 census)  Sovereign peoples under the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982  Many groups with diverse needs and interests  Negotiate with Government for land rights, hunting and fishing rights and governance rights  Approximately 50% live on self-governed land Background
• 4.
   Marginalized from therest of Canadians  Forcibly assimilated; physically and sexually abused in state-run residential school for more than 150 years  Slowly rebuilding the many cultures that were almost destroyed  Self-governance is the ultimate goal  Accepting Government of Canada's Apology The National Tragedy
• 5.
  Health  General health dependson place of residence  Health of non-Reserve aboriginal people better  Aboriginal peoples have higher rates of chronic disease  Lower access to health care services  Mental health is a major issue in Aboriginal communities  Aboriginal women are more likely to experience sexual and physical abuse
• 6.
  General Trends  High levelsof obesity (especially among women)  High levels of type-2 diabetes and chronic heart disease  Higher HIV/AIDS infection  Suicide or self-inflicted injury is the leading cause of death among aboriginals under 44 yrs  Poor housing conditions lead to increase exposure and prevelance of communicable disease
• 7.
  Children  Aboriginal communities aregenerally young  Disproportionate burden of poor health  Very high proportion of injuries (13%)  Higher level of obesity and diabetes  Aboriginal youth 5 times more likely to commit suicide then non-aboriginal youth  Inuit youth suicide rate is 11 times the national average
• 8.
  Inuit  Northern health isa big issue  Remote communities forced to give up traditional lifestyle  Living in inadequate housing leading to high exposure and susceptibility  Inuit have 62 times higher TB infection rate
• 9.
  What is beingdone?  Aboriginal peoples continuously fighting for more autonomy and compensation for past wrongs  Government of Canada is working closely with aboriginal groups to increase funding and training  Better integration of aboriginal health programs and provincial and territorial health systems
• 10.
  Aboriginal Health Programs  IndianHealth Transfer Policy (negotiations starting in 1969)  Community development to remove conditions limiting attainment of well-being (1979)  Pace of transfer of responsibility varies between groups – to help groups design programs that best fit their needs (1988)  Right to Self-Government Policy (1995)
• 11.
  The Future  Aboriginal communitiesgetting more autonomy and Government support  Community health services become better and more available  More trained staff, more funding from Government  More focus on mental health issues  General health of Inuit still a big problem  Need more access to health services  Need more adequate housing