Major health survey planned for Nunavut

The Government of Nunavut is planning to carry out an ambitious health study of Nunavummiut in the summer of 2007, using the CGS Amundsen, a Coast Guard icebreaker designed for research.

Human health will be one of the major areas of study for researchers during International Polar Year, which starts in 2007.

The GN plan will adopt an approach used during Nunavik’s Qanuippitaa health survey in 2004, when the Amundsen traveled to each community in the region, collecting information through a battery of on-board medical exams.

About one in five families in Nunavik was invited to board the Amundsen and participate in the survey, which provided information on general health, lifestyle, diet, heart disease and exposure to environmental contaminants.

However, diseases or infections normally reported or tracked by public health officials weren’t included.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said she had no knowledge of such a survey when asked about this possibility in the Nunavut legislature earlier this year.