| Summary: | Social Transition in the North (STN), was a four-year research study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF; OPP-9213137 and OPP-9496351). STN was a longitudinal study analyzing four circumpolar regions, two in Russia (Chukotka and Kamchatka) and two in Alaska (Nana and Aleutian-Pribilof Islands), looking at demographic, epidemiologic, and domestic social transitions (Mason, 2004). Demographic transitions were the study of change in mortality and birth rate. Epidemiologic transitions were studied by watching the change of infectious disease and increase of lifestyle diseases. The third transition was domestic, and is summarized as the redefinition of family, family member roles, and the family’s role within the community. The overall goal was to predict future changes, especially of high-risk conditions, and encourage institutional change that would improve services for these conditions. During the final year of the study, while in the Russian region of Chukotka, the principal investigators, two additional research staff, and 10 villagers, died in a tragic boating accident in September of 1995. It was decided that the documents would be given to the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies (ICHS) at the University of Alaska Anchorage where they are now housed.
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