Nunavut flunks national health outcomes report card

Here you can see how Nunavut ranks in comparison with the rest of Canada, in a health report card released May 12 by the Conference Board of Canada.

Out of all Canadian provinces and territories, Nunavut suffers from the worst health care outcomes, the Conference Board of Canada said in a report card released May 12.

“Canada has no choice but to adopt a model that focuses on sound primary care practices and population health approaches — particularly preventing and managing chronic diseases — and recognizes and rewards high-quality health care services,” the Conference Board said.

Yukon and the Northwest Territories also generally do worse than the Canadian average on risk factors for health, the Conference Board said, but the difference is more pronounced in Nunavut.

On many health risk factors, including obesity, physical activity, and fruit and vegetable consumption, Nunavut does much worse than the Canadian average:

• about 48 per cent of Nunavut residents smoke daily, compared with 14 per cent for Canada as a whole;

• almost 27 per cent of adults in the territory are classified as obese; and,

• fruits and vegetables are expensive: according to the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics, in 2014 the average Canadian price for one kilogram of apples was less than $4, while the average price in Nunavut was $7.

The ranking of all provinces and territories saw all the territories rank at the bottom, suffering the worst, or close to the worst, report card indicators for health outcomes.

And some of the health rankings for the territories appear to be contradictory, the Conference Board said.

Nunavut receives at least an “A” on four indicators, one “D,” and a “D-” on the remaining six indicators: life expectancy, premature mortality, infant mortality, suicides, mortality due to cancer, and mortality due to respiratory diseases.

Even the “A’s” don’t necessarily reflect good news.

“Nunavut’s ‘D’ on self-reported mental health is not surprising given its phenomenally high suicide rate. On the flip side, Nunavut scores an ‘A+’ on mortality due to diabetes and ‘A’s’ on mortality due to nervous system diseases and heart disease and stroke. Death from these diseases mainly occurs later in life,” the report said.

“Given the low life expectancy and high premature mortality rate in Nunavut, its ‘A’s’ on these indicators likely reflect the fact that the majority of the population does not live long enough to suffer from diseases that arise later in life.”

Nunavut’s life expectancy at birth is only 71.8 years compared to the national average of 81.5 years.

Canada’s health policy must be inclusive of Aboriginal traditional knowledge, building on strengths that reinforce the sense of community, said the Conference Board, an independent, not-for-profit research organization.

This means Canada needs more programs to help Aboriginal youth find purpose, build self-esteem, and assume leadership responsibilities for their families and communities.

The Conference Board also urged more attention to improving the poor socio-economic conditions in the territories.

“Efforts must be made to improve socio-economic factors that have a huge impact on the health of the population — like poverty, income inequality, cost of living, infrastructure, recreation, housing, and education,” the board said.

“Socio-economic status also plays a role in health outcomes by affecting lifestyle choices.”