Nunavut caregivers need better support in many areas: Study
Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society meets with families in all 25 Nunavut communities to inform research
Throughout 2023 and 2024, Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Disabilities Society conducted a caregiver needs mapping study across all 25 communities, the first study of its kind in the territory. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Nunavut caregivers need better access to childcare, respite care, home care and more financial support.
These are a few issues flagged in a territory-wide study looking into ways to improve care and support systems for people with disabilities.
Alyson Colón, research manager for the Nunavut Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society in Iqaluit, says a newly completed study shows caregivers across the territory are in need of better support. (Photo courtesy of Alyson Colon)
Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society, the only Inuit cross-disability organization in Nunavut, released the results of its research earlier this month.
“In speaking with community members, what becomes clear is people are really facing multiple barriers,” said Alyson Colón, research manager with the society.
“People are under a lot of stress and strain. They are juggling a lot of responsibilities.”
For the study, 543 Nunavummiut were interviewed, ranging in age from 18 to 88 including both women and men.
Some of the suggestions offered by people who were interviewed include:
- Better communication so that caregivers are aware of programs and resources that are available;
- Provide counselling or therapy to help caregivers deal with stress;
- More support from home-care staff to allow caregivers a few hours away during the day.
The hope is that policymakers will heed the call to improve services and infrastructure for caregivers and care recipients in the territory, said Colón.
The report was developed from in-person meetings and interviews with Nunavummiut in all 25 communities. It includes recommendations for improving care and support systems in the territory.
The research was conducted through the lens of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or Inuit traditional knowledge, which differs from the western approach to serving the needs of individuals with a disability.
“For this project, we really tried to let the community tell us how research activity should happen,” said Colón.
“For us, the most significant difference in research method [in the North] is building in flexibility.”
The focus group model employed often in southern research was sometimes put aside for one-on-one meetings, she added.
The Toronto-based Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence assisted with the research, with a goal to assess the state of caregiving practices and support services for Nunavummiut with disabilities.
“We are always open to connecting with policy makers and that is something we really hope to see,” said Colón. “We are always available to speak with policymakers.”
The study was part of a larger three-year research project on accessibility. That study is complete and will be shared in December, said Colón.
The Dept. of Family Services made a mistake to temporarily closed Naja Isabelle Home Care that provides services, training, employments, and sustainable to economic development in Nunavut with certified staffs. The Home Care provided services 94 years for this Territory est. 1930s, which Healthcare services did NOT exists for other settlements that time until Cabinet Ministers’ executives (stunt’s) block the whole ECONOMIC opportunities for this Nunavut with its’ incompetent Executives under the NOSE of this current Premier!
Where are the Home Care Services & Cabinet’s???