Health ship coming to a port near you

Starting at the end of August, about 1,800 Nunavik residents will be able participate in a unique health survey, called “Qanuippitaa,” aboard a ship called the CCGS Amundsen.

The Amundsen will visit all 14 communities in Nunavik, leaving from Churchill, Manitoba during the last week of August and reaching its first destination, Kuujjuaraapik, around Aug. 30, weather permitting.

The survey is intended to find out how the people of Nunavik are doing with respect to general health, lifestyle, diet, heart disease and exposure to environmental contaminants. It will also detect more urgent health problems, such as diabetes or osteoporosis.

But don’t confuse this survey with the annual tours of the C.D. Howe in the 1950s and 60s, says Elena Labranche, executive director of the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services.

“The only common thing is that it’s on a boat,” Labranche said. “You’re going to go right back home.”

The C.D. Howe hospital boat sailed the Arctic from 1950 to 1969, testing Inuit for tuberculosis and whisking many off for prolonged treatment in the South, before they could even say goodbye to their families.

Here’s how organizers say the Qanuippitaa survey will work:

About one out of five families in Nunavik, that is, 685 households, will be asked to participate in the survey.

If your family is among those chosen, and you’re over 15, you’ll be called before the Amundsen comes to your community, so you know what to expect.

A zodiac or, in some cases, a helicopter, will bring you on board when the ship arrives. There, you’ll be asked to fill out questionnaires, with the help of an interviewer, and to volunteer for some tests. Interpreters will be on hand to answer questions or assist.

The entire process will take a few hours.

The Amundsen will stay at each stop anywhere from one to three days, depending on the size of the community. Its journey ends in Kuujjuaq during the second week of October.

The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, Laval University Hospital Centre’s public health research centre, and Quebec’s Institute of Public Health are partners in the survey, with the health board and the public health research unit are splitting its $1.8 million cost.

For more information on the Health Survey, people can get in touch with the regional health board’s offices in Kuujjuaq at (819) 964-2222, extension 269.