Housing, health and the ongoing crisis

for Inuit in Canada

Presented by:Cathleen Knotsch

Senior Research Officer

• Who we are and how we work

• Our work on housing

• Our latest report: addressing the ongoing housing crisis for Inuit in Canada

• Some preliminary notes from the 2012 workshop on housing

• Research gaps, needs and recommendations

This presentation

Promoting Inuit well-being

Inuit Nunangat

St. John’s

Montreal

Ottawa

Winnipeg

Edmonton

Yellowknife

Vancouver

Knowledge Translation Tools

Inuit healing practices workshop, 2009

Canada’s peer-reviewedJournal on AboriginalHealth

2008 and 2012workshop on housing

• Series began with the 2008 workshop

• Several documents on housing

• 2011 report on housing as an important determinant of health

• 2012 workshop

Health and housing realities for Inuit

2012WORKSHOPon housing

Inuit are not as healthy as the rest of Canada

• Life expectancy in Inuit Nunangat was an average 12.2 years less than for all of Canada as a whole during 1999-2003, and this gap was shown to have been widening.

• Infant mortality in Inuit Nunangat is almost 3 times that of Canada as a whole.

• The mortality rate for Inuit Nunangat was twice that of Canada as a whole.

• Suicide/self-inflicted injury, respiratory disease, and unintentional injury are among the highest causes of death in Inuit Nunangat.

• Hospitalization rates for Inuit children with severe lower respiratory tract infections are the highest in the world:

300 per year for 1,000 infants (Baffin region)

• There is a strong association between indoor CO2 levels and the risk of lower respiratory tract infection among Inuit infants and young children

Indoor air quality – infectious diseases

Tuberculosis in Canada, 2009

Source: Public Health Agency of Canada, 2010. Tuberculosis in Canada2009. Ottawa, Minister of Health. Table 3.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of population, 2006, Table 9.

Living in crowded dwellings

“In 2006, the Inuit were the youngest

Aboriginal identity group, with a median

age of 22 years.

By 2031, […] the median age of the Inuit

population would be between 31 and 32.”

Considering demographics

Source: Statistics Canada. 2008. Analytical paper – Aboriginal Children’sSurvey, 2006: Family, community and child care. Table 3.3, p.43.

Children living in crowded dwellings

Crowding and well-being

• Crowding as a chronic source of stress

• Crowding can lead to frustration, anger, violence, spousal abuse and increase in crime levels

• Crowding has a negative impact on learning outcomes and behaviour

Hudson’s Bay building

• Multiple trauma and cumulative impacts at individual levels

• Crowding conditions create (chronic) stress, lead to physical diseases and unhealthy coping behaviours

• Local treatment capacities/facilities lacking in communities

• Language and cultural barriers in urban centres

2012 Workshop – mental health

• Aging dwellings requiring repair

• Wear and tear due to cold climate

• Climate appropriate housing technology means inclusion of local knowledge and practices in construction

Housing quality

Downtown Iqaluit, Nunavut. Photo: Cathleen Knotsch

Source: Statistics Canada. 2008. Analytical paper – Aboriginal Children’sSurvey, 2006: Family, community and child care. Table 3.3, p.43.

Children living in dwellings requiring repair

• Crowding contributes to migration to urban centres

• Urban Inuit population is growing fast (about 22 per cent in 2006)

• Homeless population increasing – Montreal action plan against homelessness; Makivik negotiates the first Inuit case worker to help homeless women in Montreal

Housing and urban experiences

The need for solution-oriented research

• Determinants of health research is still in its infancy (identifying points for intervention)

• Collaborative health research with communities on housing conditions and their influence on health is sporadic (local relevancy)

• Policy research is needed (identify existing policies for adjustment to improve the situation)

Thank YouQujannamikNakurmik

KoanaMerci

Iqalugarjuk, Nunavut. Photo: Cathleen Knotsch

Cathleen KnotschEmail: cknotsch@naho.ca

Dianne KinnonEmail: dkinnon@naho.ca

Web site: www.naho.ca/inuit

Housing documents are posted at: www.naho.ca/inuit/health-determinants/housing/

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