Integrating telehealth into Aboriginal healthcare: the Canadian experience

• Main Authors: Sarah Muttitt, Robert Vigneault, Liz Loewen
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: telemedicine; Canada; Indians; north American; Inuit; organization and administration; Wever; inuit
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.687.8607; http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/viewFile/17757/20229?origin%3Dpublication_detail

eHEALTH Telehealth, the use of information communication technologies to de-liver health care over distance, has been identified as a key mechanism for improving access to health services internationally. Canada is well suited to realize the benefits of telehealth particularly for individuals in remote, rural and isolated locations, many of whom are of Aborigi-nal descent. The health status of Canada’s Aboriginal population is ge-nerally lower than that of the non-Aboriginal population emphasizing the need for new health care solutions. The challenges associated with implementing telehealth are not unique to Aboriginal settings but, in many instances, are more pronounced as a result of cultural, political and jurisdictional issues. These challenges are not insurmountable ho-wever, and there have been a number of successes in Canada to serve as a blueprint for a national strategy for sustainable Aboriginal tele-health. This review will highlight challenges and successes related to telehealth implementation in Canadian Aboriginal communities inclu-ding: geography, technical infrastructure, human resources, cross-ju-risdictional services, and community readiness. The need for cham-pions within government, community and health care settings and the use of a needs-driven and integrated approach to implementation are highlighted. Several Canadian examples are provided including les-sons learned within the MBTelehealth Network. (Int J Circumpolar