Our publications

Over the last decade, significant changes in food consumption patterns have occurred in the traditional Inuit diet, especially since communication and transportation with southern regions were improved. Similar situations have been observed among other Aboriginal populations and it seems that Aboriginal people are vulnerable to nutritional inadequacy and are facing significant increases in nutrition-related health problems.

The Inuit communities of Nunavik have experienced profound change in every aspect of their lives over the last few decades. As contact with more southerly regions increased, the Inuit changed their living habits, adopting a more sedentary lifestyle, modern living conditions and new eating habits. The survey conducted by Santé Québec in 1992 demonstrated that these changes had an impact on the health status of this population.

The main objective of this report is to enable decision makers in clinical and administrative health settings in Montréal to be better informed of the utilisation of ambulatory care and institutional services by people in their territories who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This report on COPD is part of the “Monitorage interprétative” project conducted by the Équipe Santé des populations et services de santé (ESPSS), a joint team of the Montréal Public Health…

This summary report on primary care services organisation (Hamel, Pineault et al., 2007) is part of a series of publications focusing on the research project results. It presents evidence and unpublished data on primary care medical services organisation. Results are given according to administrative region and Health and Social Services Centre (CSSS) territory.

In Nunavik, common practices such as the consumption of untreated water and raw game may promote exposure to pathogenic agents responsible for zoonoses, infections that may be transmitted from animals to humans, as well as for food-borne and water-borne infections. As part of the 2004 Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, information was gathered to depict the supply of drinking water and to determine the prevalence of certain infections among the Inuit population, including gastroenteritis.

Alcohol and drug use

The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, conducted throughout the 14 communities of Nunavik in autumn 2004, provides an update of the alcohol and drug use descriptive profile of the population aged 15 and over and identifies the sociodemographic characteristics associated with substance use.

The Nunavik territory is a remote area characterized by a high proportion of young people and with different housing arrangements than the rest of Quebec. The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004 revealed that forty percent of Inuit are under the age of 15. The average size of Nunavik households is 4.7 persons, which is almost double that of the rest of Quebec. Most Inuit are living in households with other family members because of a high birth rate and a shortage of residences, and very few…

Hearing loss

Hearing problems are widespread in Nunavik with one quarter of adults having hearing loss in both ears. Men have three times more hearing loss than women (36% vs. 12%) and these problems are found to increase with age; more than half the adults over age 45 suffer from a hearing loss in both ears. Prevalence of hearing disability (as defined by World Health Organization) was 7.6% in Nunavik in 2004, which is one of the highest of the regions of the world…

A respiratory health survey on a representative sample (1023) of Inuit children aged 0 to 14 was undertaken for the first time in Nunavik in 2004. The data on respiratory symptoms and asthma were obtained from a household respondent, usually a parent, by means of the standardized ISAAC questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood). Other questions were also asked about various home and environmental variables.