International Journal of Circumpolar Health

In Finland, national and local restrictions were implemented to control the COVID-19 pandemic after the increase of cases, and it changed the everyday life of people. The purpose of our study was to explore public health communication and compliance related to the COVID-19 public health instructions, recommendations, and restrictions in two municipalities in Northernmost Finland, Inari and Utsjoki. We interviewed the representatives and operators working in the municipalities to understand and learn about their experiences...

The Nutrition North Canada (NNC) program, introduced in April 2011 is a federal strategy to improve access to perishable, nutritious foods for remote and isolated communities in northern Canada by subsidising retailers to provide price reductions at the point of purchase. As of March 2023, 123 communities are eligible for the program. To evaluate existing evidence and research on the NNC program to inform policy decisions to improve the effectiveness of NNC. A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles was conducted in ten databases along with a supplemental grey literature search of government and non-government reports published between 2011 and 2022...

This cross-sectional study sought to assess the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) diagnosis in Greenland among various age groups and examine the corresponding quality of care. We collected data from Greenland's electronic medical records and evaluated the quality of care using six internationally recommended indicators, which are: percentage of AF patients with an assessment of smoking status within the previous year, an assessment of body mass index within the previous year, assessment of blood pressure within the previous year, measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), treatment with an anticoagulant and percentage of patients with a measurement of serum-creatinine...

Remote Arctic communities have often been depicted as being particularly vulnerable to the challenges of disasters, with their location and lack of infrastructure exacerbating risk. This study explores the characteristics of local resilience in the Arctic using the case study of the communities of the north-western Westfjords. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews were carried out with various community members, seeking to uncover the features of inbuilt resilience that contribute to successes and vulnerabilities...

Telerehabilitation is proposed as a promising avenue to enhance service accessibility for Indigenous communities, yet its application for Indigenous children remains relatively unexplored. This scoping review followed the PRISMA-ScR framework to explore current knowledge on the use of telerehabilitation for Indigenous children. Ten scholarly databases, seven grey literature databases, reference searches, and expert consultations were utilised to identify relevant studies. Included articles discussed the use of telerehabilitation provided by rehabilitation professionals (e...

Understanding ethnic variations in body composition is crucial for assessing health risks. Universal models may not suit all ethnicities, and there is limited data on the Inuit population. This study aimed to compare body composition between Inuit and European adults using computed tomography (CT) scans and to investigate the influence of demographics on these measurements. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 50 adults (29 Inuit and 21 European) who underwent standard trauma CT scans. Measurements focused on skeletal muscle index (SMI), various fat indices, and densities at the third lumbar vertebra level, analyzed using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and multiple linear regression...

In very cold environments, it may be burdensome or impossible for the polar medic to prevent medicines from freezing. We sought to investigate whether orientation affected the risk that glass ampoules of 1 in 1000 adrenaline, an important emergency drug, would break during freezing and subsequent thawing. Ampoules of adrenaline were orientated either upright, horizontally or inverted. They were exposed to freezing temperatures (-25°C or -80°C) and then allowed to thaw. A crossover design was used whereby the orientation of unbroken ampoules was changed for the next trial...

Indigenous Elder advisors in Pelican Narrows, a Cree community in Northern Saskatchewan, have indicated that Western pain scales may not be responsive tools for pain assessments within their community. This study employed a mixed methods research design that involved two phases. Phase one was the development of a pain scale in collaboration with an Elder and a Knowledge Keeper. Phase two was a pilot of the CDPS utilised during virtual physiotherapy sessions for chronic back pain. Twenty-seven participants completed the pre-physiotherapy treatment questionnaires, and 10 participants engaged in semi-structured interviews (9 community members; 1 healthcare provider)...

Globally, self-employed people were among the hardest hit by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and faced hardships such as financial decline, restrictions, and business closures. A plethora of financial support measures were rolled out worldwide to support them, but there is a lack of research looking at the effect of the policy measures on self-employed people. To understand how different governmental financial support measures enhanced the resilience of the self-employed and improved their ability to manage the pandemic, we conducted a mixed-method study using policy analysis and semi-structured interviews...

Non-communicable diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) represent major challenges for health systems all over the world. In an interview study, we explored patient experiences and perspectives of being diagnosed and living with COPD or T2D in Greenland. Participants ( n  = 24) were selected by purposeful sampling and recruited by phone. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews at the National Hospital in Nuuk and the four regional hospitals...

The literature on Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) in the feet is scarce, especially in the occupational setting. The primary aim of our study was to investigate the occurrence of RP in the feet of miners. As part of the MineHealth project, written surveys and clinical examinations were completed by 260 Arctic open-pit miners working in northern Sweden and Norway (participation rate 53.6%). Data on RP were collected using standardised colour charts and questionnaire items. Clinical examination included assessing the perception of vibration and pain in both feet...

Inuit living in the northern region of Nunavik continue to experience significant health inequalities, which are rooted in colonialism that still have repercussions on their health-related perceptions and practices, including vaccination. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and determinants of routine vaccination among the Inuit of Nunavik by describing factors influencing vaccination decisions from the perspective of community members and health professionals. Semi-structured interviews focusing on the perception of vaccination and experience with vaccination and health services were conducted with 18 Inuit and 11 non-Inuit health professionals...

The objective of this research was to evaluate the practice trends, clinical services and job satisfaction of dental therapists in Canada. Licenced Canadian dental therapists were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional study. A total of 124 dental therapists completed the survey (~68% response rate), with 57.3% of respondents being over the age of 50. Most respondents were actively engaged in full-time clinical practice in private dental offices. Indigenous dental therapists were significantly more likely to work outside of private dental offices providing care for Indigenous communities...

In Greenland, traditional marine foods are increasingly being replaced by sucrose- and starch-rich foods. A knock-out c.273_274delAG variant in the sucrase-isomaltase ( SI ) gene is relatively common in Greenland, with homozygous carriers being unable to digest sucrose and some starch. The variant is associated with a healthier metabolic phenotype in Greenlanders, which is confirmed by SI -knockout mice. We aim to assess if the healthy phenotype is explained by metabolic and microbial differences and if food and taste preferences differ between SI -genotypes...

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Physical activity is the most important lifestyle factor to contribute to a healthy early life. International recommendations are that children should be vigorously physically active for at least 1 h per day, and in Greenland, authorities have claimed a goal of being the world's most active population. Since 1994, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) has measured physical activity among school-children in Greenland by questionnaire data, but the measurement properties of self-reported data in comparison to more objectively measured accelerometer data are unknown...

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in Greenland and evaluate quality of care according to sex, region and healthcare unit within regions. Data on all inhabitants registered with diabetes were extracted from the electronic medical record. We found a crude prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in the population aged ≥ 20 years to be 4.7%, and the prevalence of diabetes standardised to the WHO world population was 4.0%. Compared to males, a significantly higher proportion of females had mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c ) level below 7% (68...

Background: Concern was voiced by Elders, teachers, and parents that and playtime activities of the Head Start preschool programme were not aligned with the local Alaska Native culture in their communities. Methods: The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium partnered with 12 Head Start preschool programmes, administered by Rural Alaska Community Action Program in rural Alaska, to explore with community members Alaska Native value-based solutions to the concerns they raised. Local input was gathered via focus groups, interviews, and surveys...

This systematic review (a) identifies birth cohort studies (BCSs) established in the Nordic countries, (b) describes their basic characteristics, and (c) explores how these characteristics have evolved over time, discussing their implications to knowledge production. To identify Nordic BCSs, cohort databases and relevant scientific articles were systematically searched and screened.The review shows that since 1959, more than 600,000 index children have participated in the 79 Nordic BCSs (22 Danish, 20 Finnish, 12 Norwegian, 24 Swedish, one Icelandic), over half of them still ongoing...

Glioblastoma (GBM), WHO grade IV, is the most common primary malignant brain tumour among adults with a devastating overall survival of 14-22 months. Standard treatment of GBM includes maximum safe resection, radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ), given over a period of approximately 9 months. Treatment and follow-up for Greenlandic patients with GBM are managed at Rigshospitalet (RH), Copenhagen. Greenlandic GBM patients, therefore, travel back and forth to RH, often unaccompanied, and challenged by cognitive failure or other symptoms from their disease and/or treatment...