Healthy living in Nunavut: an on-line nutrition course for inuit communities in the Canadian arctic

Hamilton, Sue; Martin, J. W.; Guyot, Melissa; Trifonopoulos, Mary; Caughey, Amy; Chan, Hing Man

doi:10.3402/ijch.v63i3.17719

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Hamilton et al (33) had “active participation” from only 46%, “less active participation” from 24%, and non-participation from 30% of the 96 Inuit students who registered for an on-line nutrition course. (Note: The target students for their course were educationally, occupationally, socially and culturally very similar to those in this intervention.)…”

Section: Motivation: the Need For An Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distance education for tobacco reduction with Inuit frontline health workers

Collins

Hammond

Carry³

et al. 2013

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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BackgroundTobacco reduction is a major priority in Canadian Inuit communities. However, many Inuit frontline health workers lacked the knowledge, confidence and support to address the tobacco epidemic. Given vast distances, high costs of face-to-face training and previous successful pilots using distance education, this method was chosen for a national tobacco reduction course.ObjectiveTo provide distance education about tobacco reduction to at least 25 frontline health workers from all Inuit regions of Canada.DesignPromising practices globally were assessed in a literature survey. The National Inuit Tobacco Task Group guided the project. Participants were selected from across Inuit Nunangat. They chose a focus from a “menu” of 6 course options, completed a pre-test to assess individual learning needs and chose which community project(s) to complete. Course materials were mailed, and trainers provided intensive, individualized support through telephone, fax and e-mail. The course ended with an open-book post-test. Follow-up support continued for several months post-training.ResultsOf the 30 participants, 27 (90%) completed the course. The mean pre-test score was 72% (range: 38–98%). As the post-test was done using open books, everyone scored 100%, with a mean improvement of 28% (range: 2–62%).ConclusionsAlthough it was often challenging to contact participants through phone, a distance education approach was very practical in a northern context. Learning is more concrete when it happens in a real-life context. As long as adequate support is provided, we recommend individualized distance education to others working in circumpolar regions.

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Section: Motivation: the Need For An Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distance education for tobacco reduction with Inuit frontline health workers

Collins

Hammond

Carry³

et al. 2013

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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No microplastics detected in the first assessment of Atlantic walrus stomachs from Nunavut, Canada

Jardine,

Matthews,

Provencher

et al. 2023

Arctic Science

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As plastic pollution continues to persist at a global level, the Arctic has drawn increased research interest as a possible sink for marine pollutants. Plastic and microplastics are highly durable and can be transported across vast distances. To date, only a handful of studies have directly assessed microplastics in Arctic mammals. In Canada, it is still unclear whether they show a concrete propensity for microplastic retention and ingestion. Atlantic walruses, (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) are economically and culturally important for Inuit and are key predators in Arctic marine ecosystems. Here, we present the first assessment of microplastic pollution in Canadian walruses, and the first gastrointestinal assessment of microplastic in walruses globally. Since microplastics accumulate in benthic sediment and animals, we expected that walruses may ingest and retain microplastic contaminants when sifting in search of prey or when eating contaminated bivalves and invertebrates. We detected no microplastics ≥ 80µm in our evaluation of 36 walruses from five communities in Nunavut, Canada. Our results suggest that walruses in this region do not retain microplastic particles ≥ 80µm in their stomachs, which is consistent with findings in other pinnipeds that have been evaluated in Arctic Canada.

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Early Childhood Education Training in Nunavut: Insights from the Inunnguiniq (“Making of a Human Being”) Pilot Project

Mearns¹,

Akearok²,

Cherba³

et al. 2021

fpcfr

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In the past two decades, evidence has shown that quality early childhood education (ECE) has lasting positive impacts, enhances wellbeing in many domains, and contributes to reducing economic and health inequalities. In Canada, complex colonial history has affected Indigenous peoples’ child-rearing techniques, and there is a need to support community-owned programs and revitalize traditional values and practices. While several studies have described Indigenous approaches to childrearing, there is a lack of publications outlining the core content of preschool staff training and exploring Indigenous early childhood pedagogy. This article contributes to the literature by highlighting the features of a highly effective training model rooted in Inuit values that has been implemented in Nunavut. After describing how early childhood education is organized in Nunavut, we outline the challenges related to staff training and present the development and the pilot implementation of an evidence-based training program. We then discuss its successes and challenges and formulate suggestions for professionals and policymakers to enhance early childhood educators’ training in the territory.

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Healthy living in Nunavut: an on-line nutrition course for inuit communities in the Canadian arctic

Abstract: Despite having to overcome numerous technological, linguistic and cultural barriers, approximately 40% of registrants actively participated in the online nutrition course. The internet may be a useful medium for delivery of information to target audiences in the North.

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

Distance education for tobacco reduction with Inuit frontline health workers

Distance education for tobacco reduction with Inuit frontline health workers

No microplastics detected in the first assessment of Atlantic walrus stomachs from Nunavut, Canada

Early Childhood Education Training in Nunavut: Insights from the Inunnguiniq (“Making of a Human Being”) Pilot Project

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