Injury Prevention Workshop in Kuujjuaq

Representatives from across the Inuvialuit region, Nunavut, Nunavik and Labrador were in Kuujjuaq this week to discuss ways of bringing down the rate of injuries in their communities.

The workshop was organized by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which conducted a region-to-region survey on the nature and the extent of the impact injuries are having on Inuit communities.

“This health problem is of tremendous importance,” said ITK president Jose Kusugak. “Most people don’t know that for Inuit under 45, injuries are the greatest single cause of death. In fact, Inuit are more than four times more likely to die of an intentional or unintentional injury than other Canadians.”

In Nunavik injuries strike 40 per cent more people than in southern Quebec and are the main cause of death among every age group except 15-24. These injuries mainly result from vehicle accidents, assaults, fires and drownings.