Nunavik health board launches new app in Inuktitut

Tukisiutik Application designed to bridge language gap in health-care access

The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services is launching a new app designed to help patients and health-care providers in Nunavik communicate in Inuktitut, English and French. (Screenshots from Apple App Store)

By Nunatsiaq News

A new health app from the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services aims to bridge language gaps between health-care professionals and Inuktitut speakers.

The Tukisiutik Application, now available on the Apple App Store, is designed to improve health-care accessibility and communication for people who speak Inuktitut, said health board spokesperson Yentl Béliard-Joseph on Monday.

The tool will help health-care workers better intervene with people who speak Inuktitut through a range of features. They include a bilingual symptom index to quickly assess and understand common symptoms; a pain rating scale; an anatomical glossary in English, French and Inuktitut; and audio pronunciations of medical terms in English and Inuktitut.

“As we contemplated the challenging task of effective communication with unilingual patients, particularly in scenarios where interpreters or family members were unavailable, the idea to create a medical-glossary app for health-care professionals and Inuit patients came to life,” said Dr. Nathalie Boulanger, director of professional services at the Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre.

“We believe that access to precise health-care information is an inherent right, and the Tukisiutik app embodies the tangible realization of this core belief.”

The app was created with the support of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and Health Canada.

Users can download the app by searching “Tukisiutik” in the Apple App Store.

 

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