Egeland Grace M, Faraj Nancy, Osborne Geraldine
CINE, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Rural Remote Health. 2010 Apr-Jun;10(2):1365. Epub 2010 Jun 18.
Indicators of socioeconomic status, health behaviours and health histories are important for evaluating population health and indicators associated with 'indigeneity' features, prominently as determinants of health for Indigenous peoples. Health surveillance of young children, who represent society's most vulnerable, can provide meaningful data regarding achieving an optimal healthy start in life.
A cross-sectional health survey of Inuit children, aged 3-5 years, was conducted between 2007 and 2008. The latitude of the communities ranged from 56 degrees 32'N to 72 degrees 40'N. A bilingual research team conducted face-to-face interviews which included the use of questionnaires covering factors associated with indigeneity, the physical and socio-economic environment, health behaviours and health histories. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated.
The participation rate was 72.3%; 388 randomly selected children participated. Indicators of traditional food utilization and sharing were highly prevalent and Inuktitut was spoken by 65.2% of preschoolers in the Inuktitut speaking regions. A large percent of the preschoolers lived in a crowded dwelling (53.9%) and in public housing (69.7%), and in a home in need of major repairs (37%). There was an average of 2 smokers per household but the majority of homes restricted smoking to outside the home (83.1%). The majority of mothers smoked during pregnancy (82.5%). For children who were not adopted, there was a high prevalence of breastfeeding initiation (80.6%). A high prevalence of children were ever hospitalized, excluding deliveries (41.6%), and within the past year 40.7% of the children had to be taken to the health centre or hospital for a respiratory problem.
Indicators of indigeneity suggest the Inuktitut language is thriving and that children are learning Inuit ways through extended family contact and country food utilization and sharing. The high prevalence of smoking restrictions in the home is evidence of the success of public health messaging but further work is needed to improve health behaviours. The high prevalence of household crowding, homes in need of major repairs, public housing and income support all indicate chronic economic and social disadvantages that have negative implications for children's health. Interventions are needed to improve housing and reduce poverty for families with young children.
社会经济地位、健康行为和健康史指标对于评估人群健康以及与“原住民”特征相关的指标非常重要，这些指标是原住民健康的重要决定因素。对作为社会最弱势群体的幼儿进行健康监测，可以提供有关实现最佳健康人生开端的有意义数据。
2007年至2008年期间，对3至5岁的因纽特儿童进行了横断面健康调查。社区的纬度范围从北纬56度32分至北纬72度40分。一个双语研究团队进行了面对面访谈，其中包括使用涵盖与原住民身份、身体和社会经济环境、健康行为和健康史相关因素的问卷。计算了加权患病率估计值。
参与率为72.3%；388名随机挑选的儿童参与了调查。传统食物利用和分享指标非常普遍，在讲因纽特语的地区，65.2%的学龄前儿童会说因纽特语。很大比例的学龄前儿童居住在拥挤的住所（53.9%）和公共住房（69.7%）中，并且居住在需要进行大修的房屋中（37%）。平均每户有2名吸烟者，但大多数家庭将吸烟限制在屋外（83.1%）。大多数母亲在怀孕期间吸烟（82.5%）。对于非领养儿童，母乳喂养开始率很高（80.6%）。除分娩外，儿童住院率很高（41.6%），并且在过去一年中，40.7%的儿童因呼吸问题不得不被送往健康中心或医院。
原住民身份指标表明因纽特语正在蓬勃发展，并且儿童正在通过与大家庭的接触以及乡村食物的利用和分享来学习因纽特人的生活方式。家庭中吸烟限制的高普及率证明了公共卫生宣传的成功，但仍需要进一步努力来改善健康行为。家庭拥挤、需要大修的房屋、公共住房和收入支持的高普及率都表明了长期的经济和社会劣势，这些劣势对儿童健康有负面影响。需要采取干预措施来改善有幼儿家庭的住房条件并减少贫困。
