A scoping review of the current knowledge of the social determinants of health and infectious diseases (specifically COVID-19, tuberculosis, and H1N1 influenza) in Canadian arctic indigenous communitiesIndigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, -126 8602 112 Street, AB, Edmonton, Canada.
Arctic Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran Katu 1, Oulu, Finland.
Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Kalevantie 4, Tampere, Finland.
Department of Health Sciences, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, Washington State University, 1100 Olive Wy #1200, WA, Seattle, United States.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases.
Hotıì ts’eeda Northwest Territories SPOR SUPPORT Unit, 1000, 4920-52nd Street, NT, Yellowknife, Canada.
Aurora College, 5004 54 St, NT, Yellowknife, Canada.
Independent Public Health Consultant for Northwest Territories and Nunavut, NT, Yellowknife, Canada.
Hotıì ts’eeda Northwest Territories SPOR SUPPORT Unit, 1000, 4920-52nd Street, NT, Yellowknife, Canada.
Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, 1-198 11350 83 Avenue, AB, Edmonton, Canada.
Indigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, -126 8602 112 Street, AB, Edmonton, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, AB, Calgary, Canada.
Hoffmann-La Roche Limited, 7070 Mississauga Rd, ON, Mississauga, Canada.
Beaufort-Delta Region, Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority, Government of the Northwest Territories, NT, Inuvik, Canada.
Indigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, -126 8602 112 Street, AB, Edmonton, Canada.
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2025 (English)In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 22, no 1, article id 1
Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Social determinants of health (SDHs) and the impact of colonization can make Canadian Arctic Indigenous communities susceptible to infectious diseases, including the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This scoping review followed the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews and studied what is known about selected pandemics (COVID-19, tuberculosis, and H1N1 influenza) and SDHs (healthcare accessibility, food insecurity, mental health, cultural continuity, housing, community infrastructure, and socioeconomic status (SES)) for Canadian Arctic Indigenous communities. Original studies published in English and French up to October 2024 were located in databases (PubMed, Medline, and CINAHL), AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, and through reference tracking. We included 118 studies: 6 relating to COVID-19, 5 to influenza, 5 to TB, 27 to food insecurity, 26 to healthcare access, 22 to mental health, 9 to SES, 8 to housing, 7 to cultural continuity, and 3 to community infrastructure. SDHs affecting Indigenous individuals include food insecurity, limited healthcare access, mental health challenges, low SES, suboptimal housing, and limited cultural continuity. These findings are relevant to other Arctic regions. It is crucial to understand how SDHs impact the health of Arctic communities and to utilize this information to inform policy and practice decisions for pandemic prevention, management, and treatment. Many SDHs pose challenges for preventing and managing infectious diseases.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2025. Vol. 22, no 1, article id 1
Keywords [en]
Canadian Arctic, COVID-19, Indigenous, infectious diseases, pandemic, social determinants of health
National Category
Epidemiology Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-235394DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22010001PubMedID: 39857454Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85216862017OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-235394DiVA, id: diva2:1937724
2025-02-142025-02-142025-02-14Bibliographically approved