1. Department of Sociology and Social Studies
An Interdisciplinary Study of Climate Change Impact on the Health of Inuit People of Canada
Osazuwa Osayomwanbor
Department of Sociology and Social Studies
University of Regina
Discussion: Determinants of Inuit People’s Health
Table 1: Applying interdisciplinary method using three disciplinary insights
Author
Greer A, Victoria N.G, Fisman D (2008)
Willox A.C, Harper S.L, Ford J.D et al (2012)
Curtis S.E and Oven K.J (2012)
Disciplinary perspective
Medicine
Environmental Health
Social Justice
Key theory/
approach
Ecological approach/model
Environmental health promotion
Vulnerability approach
Key idea
Human health is affected by immunological, bacterial, viral and genetic issues.
Human health is impacted at multiple levels of environment:
1.Intrapersonal
2.Interpersonal
3.Institutional
4.Community
5. Policy
Issues relating to sustainability and environmental
justice create susceptibilities and risk to health hazards.
Assumption/
insights
There are bio-physical and ecological component of the human system that impacts its health and wellbeing.
There is a link between human health and stability or instability of environmental condition
Human health has deep connection to social status
Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit identifies the following as determinants of Inuit health:
1. Balance
2. Life control
3. Social resources
4. Education
5. Environmental connection
6. Material resources
“Health as a measure of human experience cannot be considered in isolation from the social and economic forces that shape it”. James Daschuk
Introduction
Recent studies on health impacts of climate change often assume simplistic cause-effect relationships between climate change and health.
But this approach has been criticized for two reasons:
It depends on a narrow concept of health, that is, the absence of disease.
It ignores critical factors related to exposure to risk and vulnerability, including reflexivity.
Thus, analysis of climate change impact on health tend to be a rigid and narrow analysis of disease spread or severity.
Therefore, we define health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”- World Health Organization (WHO)
Discussion: Health Status of Inuit People
The health status of the residents of Nunavut is considerably lower than that of the rest of Canada. The Inuit people represent 84% of Nunavut population. Below is a table that shows the overall Canadian health status and those of every province.
Conclusion
Researchers must examine the impact of climate change on the social determinants of health , not only on the prevalence of certain diseases.
This would be a useful approach because:
Health is more than disease absence. By adopting this approach, we are also able to understand the impact of climate change on mental, psychological and other health aspects that are non-disease oriented.
We can never know for sure what new diseases will emerge from climate change. Thus instead of studying the potential for new diseases to emerge, studying the impact of climate change on the factors that make people vulnerable to diseases will be a more proactive measure.
Table2: Health status of Canada vs. health status of Inuit people in Nunavut (A+=Best; D-=Worst)
Research Question
How should we study the health impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations?
Aims of Study
Demonstrate how interdisciplinary research method s can be used to expand our understanding of the concept of health.
Show the relevance of a broader conceptualization of health to an analysis of health impacts of climate change.
Methods
References
Greer, A., Ng, V., & Fisman, D. (2008). Climate change and infectious diseases in North America: the road ahead. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 178(6),
Willox, A.C., Harper, S. L., Ford, J. D., Landman, K., Houle, K., & Edge, V. L. (2012). “From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada. Social Science & Medicine, 75(3),
Curtis, S. E., & Oven, K. J. (2012). Geographies of health and climate change. Progress in Human Geography, 36(5),
Larson, J. S. (1999). The conceptualization of health. Medical Care Research and Review, 56(2),
Government of Nunavut (2015). Nunavut FAQ. Iqaluit: Government of Nunavut. Available at:
Conference Board of Canada (2015). How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada. Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada. Available at:
Chantelle, A.M, and N.A Ross The Determinants of First Nation and Inuit health: A Critical Population Health Approach. Health & Place 15.2 (2009):
Daschuk, J. W. (2013). Clearing the plains: disease, politics of starvation, and the loss of Aboriginal life (Vol. 65). University of Regina Press.
Literature review
Case study: Health status of Canadian Inuit people
Literature Review
The concept of health is multi-dimensional, thus requiring a holistic definition.
An application of interdisciplinary research method helps to capture the multiple dimensions of health and create a holistic meaning .
Source: Conference Board of Canada, 2015
Acknowledgment
University of Regina: Department of Sociology and Sociology and Social Studies; Arts’ Students Association (ASA); Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR).
Personal: My family; Profs JoAnn Jaffe, Polo Diaz and Andre Magnan