Kivalliq Inuit women travelling to Manitoba for birthing : findings from the Qanuinngitsiarutiksait study ...

• Main Authors: Lavoie, Josée G., Clark, Wayne, McDonnell, Leah, Nickel, Nathan, Dutton, Rachel, Kanayok, Janet, Anawak, Jack, Anawak, Caroline, Brown, Levinia, Clark, Grace V., Evaluardjuk-Palmer, Maata, Ford, Frederick, Fowler-Woods, Melinda, Wong, Sabrina T., Sanguins, Julianne, Katz, Alan
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central 2023
• Subjects: inuit; Kivalliq; Nunavut
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0438007; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0438007

Background: The Qanuinngitsiarutiksait study aimed to develop detailed profiles of Inuit health service utilization in Manitoba, by Inuit living in Manitoba (approximately 1,500) and by Inuit from the Kivalliq region of Nunavut who travel to Manitoba to access care not available in Nunavut (approximately 16,000 per year). Methods: We used health administrative data routinely collected in Manitoba for all services provided and developed an algorithm to identify Inuit in the dataset. This paper focused on health services used by Inuit from the Kivalliq for prenatal care and birthing. Results: Our study found that approximately 80 percent of births to women from the Kivalliq region occur in Manitoba, primarily in Winnipeg. When perinatal care and birthing are combined, they constitute one third of all consults happening by Kivalliq residents in Manitoba. For scale, hospitalizations for childbirths to Kivalliq women about to only 5 percent of all childbirth-related hospitalizations in Manitoba. Conclusions: The ...