Young First Nations (FN) children in Northern Ontario are suffering respiratory tract infections because of poor housing conditions.
Those are among the findings that were part of a study carried out in several Northern Ontario locations that included research from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).
Details of the study are outlined in the latest Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
CMAJ said the study was done to measure indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in the homes of FN children in isolated communities and to determine whether that was creating respiratory diseases in children as young as 18 months.
The study examined and evaluated 98 children aged three years or younger, living in four Indigenous communities in the area of Sioux Lookout, Ontario. The researchers said they examined medical charts, did interviews and carried out inspections of private homes, which included measuring mould found in some homes.
Researchers also monitored air quality for five days in each home and measured the contaminants found in floor dust and other areas. Mould was also found in connection with the indoor storage of firewood.
The study said the mean age of the youngsters involved was 1.6 years and 21 per cent of them had been admitted to hospital for respiratory infections before they were two years old.
The study said “houses were generally crowded” with most homes having more than six occupants.
“Serious housing concerns were frequent, including a lack of functioning controlled ventilation,” said the study.
It also stated that among the lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) that affect the children, there were cases of bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
It said that for every 1,000 admissions of children younger than one year in the Sioux Lookout FN Health Authority, there were 44 hospital admissions of babies with LRTI lung infections.
The study also stated that poor outcomes for children who lived in homes with poor environmental quality is a problem everywhere in the world. But it is much worse in Indigenous homes, said the study.
“Surveys have found that more than 24 per cent of FN and Inuit housing is overcrowded or in need of major repairs or both, compared with 6 per cent elsewhere in Canada,” said the study.
The study was authored by Thomas Kovesi, Gary Mallach, Yoko Schreiber, Michael McKay, Gail Lawlor, Nick Barrowman, Anne Tsampalieros, Ryan Kulka, Ariel Root, Len Kelly, Michael Kirlew and J. David Miller; who are a group of physicians and research scientists representing hospitals, universities and public health agencies in Ottawa, Pickering, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sioux Lookout.
The study said “urgent collective action is needed to respond to historically damaging impacts of colonization, including systemic indifference.”
The study also concluded that economic opportunity, elimination of food insecurity and provision of potable water will allow communities and residents to apply more resources to the upkeep of existing houses.
“Such measures will improve the overall health of FN peoples, particularly vulnerable family members, such as children and elders,” said the study.
A full copy of the study is located on the CMAJ website.
