As primary caregivers in remote Indian communities in northern Canada, nurses often witness considerable health status inequities between these people and the rest of Canada's population. In Saskatchewan, for example, tuberculosis incidence rates are 15 times higher for northerners in general than for people in the south. Infant mortality rates are twice as high, suicides are three times higher, motor vehicle related deaths are four to six times higher and deaths from diabetes in Indians aged 45 to 65 years are six times higher than in the general population. Some people suggest that these discrepancies are due simply to the inadequate funding of health care programs. Others refer to the remoteness of the communities and hence the inability to access advanced medical technology. A final hypothesis is that the increased exposure to white communities, practices and morals and the neglect of spiritual values have led to social disintegration and have hindered good health care practices.
作为加拿大北部偏远印第安社区的主要护理人员，护士经常目睹这些人与加拿大其他人口之间存在着显著的健康状况不平等。例如，在萨斯喀彻温省，北部居民的结核病发病率总体上比南部居民高15倍。婴儿死亡率是南部居民的两倍，自杀率是三倍，与机动车相关的死亡率是四倍到六倍，45至65岁印第安人的糖尿病死亡率比普通人群高六倍。一些人认为，这些差异仅仅是由于医疗保健项目资金不足。另一些人则提到社区地处偏远，因此无法获得先进的医疗技术。最后一个假设是，与白人社区、习俗和道德的接触增加以及精神价值的忽视导致了社会解体，并阻碍了良好的医疗保健实践。
