| Summary: | Population Dynamics in Greenland: A Multi-component Mixed-methods Study of Pregnancy Dynamics in Greenland (PDG) examined how decisions regarding conception, pregnancy and parenthood are shaped by multiple interacting constraints and influences operating in Kullorsuaq, Greenland. Climate change and expanded extraction of natural resources coupled with low birth rates, high abortion rates, and increasing emigration are placing current and future generations of Greenlanders and Greenlandic culture and practices in jeopardy. Our project sought to document and understand the interplay among the cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors that created the context in which Greenlandic individuals and communities made reproductive decisions. Our principal goals were to address a variety of complex issues underpinning the well being and continuity of Greenlanders and their culture, to expand scholarship on Greenland’s people and to advance the utility of that knowledge for the benefit of Greenlanders and other arctic Indigenous peoples, and to contribute to scientific understanding of the myriad factors that influence human reproductive choices. PDG took place in Kullorsuaq, Greenland from May 2013 to April 2017. Although data collection began in 2014, Drs. Rink and Adler Reimer spent 2013 building capacity with community members in Kullorsuaq and key stakeholders in Upernavik, Ilulissat, and Nuuk for the project. Additional research activities, including data dissemination, occurred from May 2017 to March 2022. PDG utilized a community based participatory research (CBPR) framework with mixed methodologies including, in-depth interviews, ethnography and focus groups. The study had oversight by a four member community advisory board that guided and provided insight into the research questions, data collection methods and instruments, interpretation of the study results and made final recommendations on the research findings. In total 96 interviews were conducted using purposive sampling techniques. Interviews ranged in age from 15 to 83 and were 55% female and 45% male. Content analysis and grounded theory were used to analyze the in-depth interviews. Based on the in-depth interview results 10 focus groups were conducted in April 2017, 4 in Kullorsuaq, 2 in Upernavik, 2 in Ilulissat and 2 in Nuuk. The purpose of the focus groups was to share the research findings with key stakeholders in the health care, education, and social service sectors to elicit further input regarding recommendations for reducing reproductive health disparities among Greenlanders. Similar to the in-depth interviews, the focus groups were analyzed using content analysis and grounded theory. PDGs results have implications for reducing reproductive health disparities in Greenland for the people of Kullorsuaq as well as throughout Greenland.
|
|---|