scholarly journals The health of Canada’s Aboriginal children: results from the First Nations and Inuit Regional Health Survey

2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet L. MacMillan ◽  
Ellen Jamieson ◽  
Chrstine Walsh ◽  
Michael Boyle ◽  
Allison Crawford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Health Survey ◽  
Regional Health ◽  
Aboriginal Children

scholarly journals Measuring Community Strengths – Using Data from The First Nations Regional Health Survey Linked with A Whole-Population Administrative Data Repository

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan C Nickel ◽  
Wanda Phillips-Beck ◽  
Rhonda Campbell ◽  
Dan Chateau ◽  
Joykrishna Sarkar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Health Survey ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Regional Health ◽  
Community Strength ◽  
Strength Based

IntroductionAdministrative data studies routinely report that First Nations mothers and children experience a disproportionate burden of poor health. Due to the nature of administrative data, research often takes a deficits-oriented approach. First Nations health research needs to consider the role that community- and individual-level strengths play in promoting wellbeing and examine how these interact with the delivery and outcomes of health programs. Objectives and ApproachThe First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM) and the University of Manitoba partnered to construct measures of community-level strengths that can be linked with administrative data to examine the delivery and outcomes associated with population health programs delivered in First Nations communities. We linked data from the FNHSSM-administered Regional Health Survey (RHS) with administrative data housed in the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository. We identified 60 questions from the child, youth, and adult versions of the RHS to measure community strengths. We used principal component analysis to identify strength-based constructs. We used Eigen values and percent of variance explained to determine the final number of factors. We used random group resampling and bootstrap methods to test for community-level homogeneity. Community-level factor scores were calculated as the scaled combination of RHS questions within each factor and averaged to the community. ResultsWe identified 12 constructs of community strength: 5 from child responses, 4 from youth, and 3 from adult responses. Strength-based constructs common to all age groups included knowledge of traditional language, involvement in cultural events, and connection with community. Conclusion / ImplicationsColonial approaches to health research perpetuate deficit-based dialogues and negative portrayal of First Nations peoples. First Nations health research should consider how community strengths promote health and interact with program delivery. Including measures of community strength leads to richer understandings of factors that promote wellness among First Nations peoples.

Exploring Alternate Explanations for Agency-Level Effects in Placement Decisions Regarding Aboriginal Children

2020 ◽  
pp. 215-234
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Fallon ◽  
John D. Fluke ◽  
Martin Chabot ◽  
Cindy Blackstock ◽  
Vandna Sinha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
Aboriginal Children

This chapter summarizes a series of published papers that used data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) to explore the influence of case and organizational characteristics on decisions to place Aboriginal children in out-of-home placements. The premise of the analyses was that these influences were consistent with the framework of the Decision-Making Ecology. In Canada, Aboriginal children are overrepresented at all points of child welfare decision-making: investigation, substantiation, and placement in out-of-home care. Case factors accounting for the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children at all service points in the child welfare system include poverty, poor housing, and substance misuse, and these factors, when coupled with inequitable resources for First Nations children residing on reserves, result in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian child welfare system. For this study, the authors examine case characteristics and organizational factors in a multilevel context, hypothesizing that children are more likely to be placed out of home in agencies that serve a relatively high proportion of Aboriginal children. According to the statistical models presented, the most important of these factors is whether the provincial government operates the child welfare agency. As with the proportion of Aboriginal children on the caseload, the risk of a child being placed is greater in government-run agencies compared to agencies operated by private funders. Further analysis needs to be conducted to fully understand individual- and organizational-level variables that may influence /decisions regarding placement of Aboriginal children.

scholarly journals Preventing Obesity in Canada’s Aboriginal Children: Not Just a Matter of Eating Right and Getting Active

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie A Ferris
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Right ◽  
Aboriginal Children ◽  
And Training

Obesity is a growing issue for all children. Many experts say that preventing obesity is largely a matter of eating the right foods and getting enough physical activity. This advice doesn’t recognize the fact that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children face unique barriers to growing up healthy and strong simply because of their identity. This paper discusses how the social determinants of health impact the ability of Aboriginal children to grow up free of obesity. The paper highlights results from a community-based research project conducted amongst Aboriginal parents and service providers in Ontario who wish to prevent obesity amongst their own young children and clients. Research was carried out over two years to help develop a “toolkit” and training program to help service provides increase efforts to prevent obesity amongst First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children from the ages of 2 to 6 in Ontario.

scholarly journals Suicide Ideation and Attempts among First Nations Peoples Living On-Reserve in Canada: The Intergenerational and Cumulative Effects of Indian Residential Schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 422-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Jane McQuaid ◽  
Amy Bombay ◽  
Opal Arilla McInnis ◽  
Courtney Humeny ◽  
Kimberly Matheson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
Residential Schools ◽  
Regional Health ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
History Of ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors

Objective: Suicide rates among Indigenous peoples in Canada are at least twice that of their non-Indigenous counterparts. Although contemporary stressors contribute to this increased risk, historical experiences such as the Indian Residential School (IRS) system may also have continuing links with the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The current investigation examined the intergenerational and cumulative links between familial IRS attendance in relation to lifetime suicide ideation and attempts among First Nations adults living on-reserve. Method: Data from the 2008-2010 First Nations Regional Health Survey were analyzed, and participants comprised a representative sample of First Nations adults older than 18 years (weighted N = 127,338; IRS attendees were excluded). Of those who knew their familial IRS history, 38.0% had no history of attendance, 19.3% had a grandparent who attended, 16.2% had a parent who attended, and 26.5% had a parent and grandparent who attended. Results: Exposure of one previous familial generation to the IRS experience was associated with increased risk for lifetime suicide ideation (odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16 to 1.84; P = 0.001) and attempts (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.94; P < 0.016) compared with those with no IRS history. Having 2 generations of IRS familial history was associated with greater odds of reporting a suicide attempt compared with having one generation (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.75; P = 0.022), which was reduced when current levels of distress and ideation were accounted for. Conclusion: Findings support the existence of linkages between intergenerational exposure to IRS and risk for suicidal ideation and attempts and for a potential cumulative risk in relation to suicide attempts across generations.

Media Practices and Painful Pasts: The Public Testimonial in Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission

2013 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda J. Brady
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
The Public ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Majority Culture ◽  
Aboriginal Children ◽  
Media Practices

From the 1870s through the 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were enrolled in government-funded, church-run Indian Residential Schools (IRS) in Canada. The schools reflected policies aimed at assimilating Aboriginal peoples into majority culture. Many Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their homes and suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuses. As part of its Mandate, Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) collects testimonials from residential school survivors in various mediated forms to create a historical record. This article explores the TRC's public statement-gathering process and the ways in which media practices shape and guide testimonials. It argues that the TRC encourages particular survivor narratives as it signals to speakers that they should anticipate the norms and uses of media and narrative guidelines. However, there is a layer of meta-narrative common in TRC statements, suggesting resistance to and subversion of the process. This article considers the nuances of First Nations testimonials against the backdrop of storytelling traditions.

Taking Ownership: The Implementation of a Non-Aboriginal Early Education Programme for On-Reserve Children

2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Beatch ◽  
Lucy Le Mare
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
One Year ◽  
Aboriginal Children ◽  
Women’S Views

AbstractIn this qualitative study, over the period of one year, we assessed the appropriateness of a mainstream early childhood education intervention, the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) programme, in five on-reserve First Nations communities, by focusing on the experiences of the Aboriginal women who delivered the programme. Findings revealed a process of “taking ownership” of HIPPY. “Taking ownership” included three subprocesses: changes in the women’s views regarding (1) the strengths of the programme; (2) self-identity; and (3) the identification of the programme as Aboriginal. Through taking ownership, the women were no longer content to deliver HIPPY strictly as it was described in the programme manuals. Although the women continued to maintain that HIPPY was valuable for their communities, their actions and words clearly demonstrated that sharing cultural knowledge in the context of the programme was important to them and, they believed, important for the children and families they worked with. The process documented here points to the importance of Aboriginal culture reflected in educational provisions for Aboriginal children - whether this can be appropriately achieved through supplementing and/or adapting mainstream programmes remains a point of debate.

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