Toward improved health for Ontario’s First Nations: The Aboriginal People’s Survey A presentation to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies February 8, 2008 Chantelle Richmond, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow (U of T, Public Health Sciences) Adjunct Professor (UWO, Geography & First Nations Studies)

2 Outline of topics  What is the Aboriginal People’s Survey?  What does the APS measure?  How can you access the APS data?

3 The Aboriginal People’s Survey (1)  A post censal survey conducted by Statistics Canada (1991, 2001, 2006 underway)  The report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples relied heavily on the 1991 APS data  Survey developed in consultation with national Aboriginal organizations, federal departments, provincial and territorial groups  All data collected under the authority of the Statistics Act Data owned by Statistics Canada

4 The Aboriginal People’s Survey (2)  The APS respondents represent diverse segments of the Aboriginal population (who report First Nation, Métis, Inuit ancestry and identity) Geographic levels include on-reserve & off-reserve First Nations, Métis settlements, Inuit communities, urban, rural, Northern Aboriginal peoples In total, 217 communities participated (> 120,000)

5 The Aboriginal People’s Survey (3)  22 communities were incompletely enumerated by the APS (5,455 individuals) Refusal to participate, data collection interrupted 40 other communities incompletely enumerated by 2001 Census  First Nations on-reserve sample not statistically representative or aggregated to the population level

6 Objectives of the 2001 APS  To provide data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada  To identify needs and priorities within the Aboriginal population APS Concepts and Methods Guide: XIE/ XIE pdf

7 APS Core Survey Content  Education  Language  Health  Labour Activity  Income  Schooling  Housing  Mobility

8 APS Data Collection Tools  Personal and telephone interviews with residents of private dwellings  Four Survey Instruments 1.Children and youth survey (0-14 years old) 2.Adult core survey (all adults 15 and over) 3.Arctic Supplement (Inuit community residents) 4.Métis Supplement (Métis identity/ancestry)

9 Strategies for accessing APS data 1.Perform your own data analysis at a Statistics Canada Research Data Centre 2.Use the 2001 APS Community Profiles

10 Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centres (RDC’s) (1)  RDC’s provide researchers with access, in a secure university setting, to microdata from population and household surveys undetaken by Statistics Canada StatCan datasets more readily available 14 RDC’s across Canada Staffed by StatCan employees Projects must first be be approved Researchers are ‘deemed employees’ and must abide by the Statistics Act

11 Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centres (RDC’s) (2)  RDC’s in Ontario 1.Carleton, Ottawa, Outaouais Local Research Data Centre (COOL RDC)  University of Ottawa, Carleton University 2.Queen's University Research Data Centre 3.Toronto Regional Statistics Canada RDC  University of Toronto, Ryerson University, York University 4.McMaster University Research Data Centre 5.South Western Ontario Research Data Centre  University of Waterloo, Laurentian University 6.University of Western Ontario Research Data Centre

12 The 2001 APS Community Profiles  Web address:  Information on Aboriginal identity population for select communities where population > 200  Data available at the community level for: Children  General health, health care utilization, medical conditions, physical injuries, dental care, education and social activities, language, childcare arrangements Adults  Education, language, labour activity, health communication technology, mobility, housing

13 AN EXAMPLE FROM THE APS COMMUNITY PROFILES General Health Characteristics (Adult) Garden River 14 Fort William 52 Self-rated health % of adults who say their health is: Excellent or very good 5938 Good 3132 Fair or poor 632 % of adults who saw or talked on telephone about physical, emotional or mental health in past 12 months to: Family doctor or general practitioner 5978 Traditional healer 16X Nurse 3141 Dentist or Orthodontist 5554 Other health professional 4570

14 AN EXAMPLE FROM THE APS COMMUNITY PROFILES Child Education and Social Activities Child Education: Garden River 14Fort William 52 % of children (6-14 years) attending school % of children (6-14 years) who attended an early childhood development or preschool program 5038 % of children (6-14 years) who attended Aboriginal specific early childhood development or preschool program 86X Average number of hours children watch TV and/or play video games per day 44 How often child plays sports per week: Never or less than once (%) X25 One or more times (%) 8375

15 Summary of the APS  The APS is a rich source of data on the Aboriginal population of Canada  APS data can be used to inform the health and social needs of Aboriginal peoples in Ontario and for targeting health care programming  Limitations relate to population or regional aggregation of First Nation on-reserve population Community-level profiles are useful for understanding local conditions  A need to integrate information from other sources (i.e., the Regional Health Survey) and from other methods as well (e.g., qualitative approaches)

16 Thanks for listening/ Miigwetch! Comments/questions: Chantelle Richmond, Ph.D. Department of Geography & The First Nations Studies Program The University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2 Tel: , ext Fax: