Richmond Chantelle A M
Department of Geography, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada.
Int J Circumpolar Health. 2009 Dec;68(5):471-87. doi: 10.3402/ijch.v68i5.17383.
Societies that foster socially supportive networks produce healthier populations. Social support is a significant determinant of health among Canada's Inuit population; however, little is known about the characteristics that provide access to social support among Inuit. This exploratory analysis describes how 4 types of social support (namely, positive social interaction, emotional support, tangible support and affection and intimacy) differ in relation to various determinants of health.
Micro-data from the Arctic Supplement of the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (n = 26,290) was used.
Cross-tabulations and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine levels (high/low) of the 4 types of social support among the full Inuit sample (n = 26,290) as they relate to age, gender, geographic region, marital status, Aboriginal language use and participation in traditional harvesting activities.
Certain subsegments of the Inuit population were less likely to report high levels of social support, including men, the elderly (aged 55+) and the unmarried. Some Inuit-relevant determinants were also found to decrease the odds of reporting high levels of social support, including being unable to speak or understand an Aboriginal language, not participating in traditional harvesting activities and living in Nunavik.
Research that frames Inuit health within the social determinants of health is in its relative infancy; however, evidence from the social epidemiological literature indicates that those with diminished access to social support also suffer poorer health outcomes. Future research should build on the findings of this study to examine how the relationship between various health outcomes (e.g., respiratory disease, suicide attempts, self-rated health) and social support may respond along a social gradient. Such analysis will build on the paucity of literature specific to Inuit health and social conditions and set priorities for policy and programming efforts that will improve the social determinants of Inuit health.
促进社会支持网络的社会能够造就更健康的人群。社会支持是加拿大因纽特人群健康的一个重要决定因素；然而，对于因纽特人中能够获得社会支持的特征却知之甚少。这项探索性分析描述了4种社会支持类型（即积极的社会互动、情感支持、实际支持以及关爱与亲密）在与各种健康决定因素的关系上有何不同。
使用了2001年原住民调查北极补充调查的微观数据（n = 26,290）。
采用交叉表和多变量逻辑回归分析，在整个因纽特样本（n = 26,290）中研究这4种社会支持类型的水平（高/低）与年龄、性别、地理区域、婚姻状况、原住民语言使用情况以及参与传统收获活动之间的关系。
因纽特人群中的某些亚群体报告高水平社会支持的可能性较小，包括男性、老年人（55岁及以上）和未婚者。还发现一些与因纽特人相关的决定因素会降低报告高水平社会支持的几率，包括不会说或听不懂原住民语言、不参与传统收获活动以及居住在努纳维克。
将因纽特人健康置于健康的社会决定因素框架内的研究尚处于起步阶段；然而，社会流行病学文献的证据表明，获得社会支持机会较少的人健康状况也较差。未来的研究应基于本研究的结果，探讨各种健康结果（如呼吸系统疾病、自杀未遂、自评健康）与社会支持之间的关系如何可能沿着社会梯度发生变化。这样的分析将基于针对因纽特人健康和社会状况的文献稀缺情况展开，并为改善因纽特人健康的社会决定因素的政策和规划工作确定优先事项。
