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 Communities

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 Communities

Indigenous peoples--Health and hygiene--Canada

Fariba Kolahdooz, Se Lim Jang, Sarah Deck, David Ilkiw, Gertrude Omoro, Arja Rautio, Sami Pirkola, Helle Møller, Gary Ferguson, Birgitta Evengård, Lianne Mantla-Look, Debbie DeLancey, André Corriveau, Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, Adrian Wagg, Cindy Roache, Katherine Rittenbach, Henry J. Conter, Ryan Falk, Sangita Sharma

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Vol. 22

No. 1

2024

MDPI AG

Journal article

English

16604601

Canada

Open Access

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.

Julia Arizono