Frameworks for Determinants of Health: Characteristics and Features in Indigenous Contexts

Highlights 

Frameworks for determinants of health are used to understand the factors and conditions that contribute to populations’ health and ensure appropriate interventions. The magnitude and severity of the social inequalities experienced by Indigenous populations require public health actions that are based on a thorough understanding of all the individual, collective, and structural factors that influence Indigenous health at the population level. This document describes the key characteristics of frameworks for determinants of Indigenous health developed by or for Indigenous populations. 

The systematized literature search identified 15 frameworks developed by or in collaboration with Indigenous organizations. Their analysis shows that they share similarities with commonly used public health frameworks, including: 

  • Use of monitoring data 
  • Categorization of determinants into various interconnected levels 
  • A focus on the underlying effects of structural determinants as sources of social inequalities in health 

Frameworks developed by or in collaboration with Indigenous organizations are characterized by: 

  • A focus on the strengths, resilience, and protective factors of Indigenous populations rather than on illness, deficits, or risk factors 
  • Exposure to the adverse and ongoing effects of distinctive structural determinants—the impact of colonial policies and their resulting historical traumas—on the health of Indigenous peoples 

Frameworks for determinants of Indigenous populations’ health are useful for: 

  • Knowing the dimensions that influence health throughout a person’s life 
  • Understanding the relationships between determinants and the influence of structural determinants on social inequalities in health 
  • Planning health promotion and preventive actions for a wide range of public health actors   

Courses of action 

  • Document Québec organizations’ and government departments’ knowledge and use of the frameworks for determinants of Indigenous populations’ health. 
  • Promote and support the implementation of a strategy for the dissemination and adoption of frameworks for determinants of Indigenous populations’ health to Québec organizations and government departments. 
  • Foster collaborative spaces with Indigenous populations to agree on the determinants of health that should be prioritized and thus better define the actions that will contribute to improving Indigenous health.

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ISBN (Digital)

978-2-550-98237-1

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