Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada
Background: Alcohol and drug use is a serious health problem for many indigenous populations across Canada, including Inuit. The literature on substance use in these populations is too sparse to devise public health interventions. Objective: The present article portrays alcohol and drug use among In...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ddab22f0524e487ea5599d1723636df4 2023-05-15T15:10:47+02:00 Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada Marilyn Fortin Richard E. Bélanger Olivier Boucher Gina Muckle 2015-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v74.29146 https://doaj.org/article/ddab22f0524e487ea5599d1723636df4 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/view/29146/pdf_58 https://doaj.org/toc/2242-3982 2242-3982 doi:10.3402/ijch.v74.29146 https://doaj.org/article/ddab22f0524e487ea5599d1723636df4 International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 74, Iss 0, Pp 1-9 (2015) alcohol marijuana drugs Inuit indigenous communities Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v74.29146 2022-12-31T00:16:44Z Background: Alcohol and drug use is a serious health problem for many indigenous populations across Canada, including Inuit. The literature on substance use in these populations is too sparse to devise public health interventions. Objective: The present article portrays alcohol and drug use among Inuit living in Nunavik (Northern Quebec) between the 1990s and 2000s, and identifies socio-demographic characteristics related to substance use. Design: The Santé Québec Health Survey (1992) and the Nunavik Inuit Health Survey Qanuippitaa (2004) served as databases for this empirical work. Statistical comparisons were made of substance use variables in the 2 samples. Proportions were compared by chi-square tests (p≤0.05) with benchmarking of statistics for all of Quebec and, when available, all of Canada. Results: Alcohol and drug use among Inuit increased significantly between 1992 and 2004, particularly among young adults. Alcohol users consumed significantly more alcohol per drinking episode than other Canadians in both time periods. Considerable cannabis use was widespread. In 2004, no significant differences in frequencies of heavy drinking episodes were observed by gender, with 60% of drug users consuming alcohol on a regular basis. Conclusions: As in other populations from North America, this study profiles the increase in substance use among Inuit from Nunavik in the first part of the last 20 years. We observed distinct substance use patterns among them in comparison to other Canadians. Such findings, if replicated in the coming years, emphasize the need for major, culturally-relevant public health interventions in this population. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health inuit Nunavik Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Canada Nunavik International Journal of Circumpolar Health 74 1 29146 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
alcohol marijuana drugs Inuit indigenous communities Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
spellingShingle |
alcohol marijuana drugs Inuit indigenous communities Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Marilyn Fortin Richard E. Bélanger Olivier Boucher Gina Muckle Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada |
topic_facet |
alcohol marijuana drugs Inuit indigenous communities Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Background: Alcohol and drug use is a serious health problem for many indigenous populations across Canada, including Inuit. The literature on substance use in these populations is too sparse to devise public health interventions. Objective: The present article portrays alcohol and drug use among Inuit living in Nunavik (Northern Quebec) between the 1990s and 2000s, and identifies socio-demographic characteristics related to substance use. Design: The Santé Québec Health Survey (1992) and the Nunavik Inuit Health Survey Qanuippitaa (2004) served as databases for this empirical work. Statistical comparisons were made of substance use variables in the 2 samples. Proportions were compared by chi-square tests (p≤0.05) with benchmarking of statistics for all of Quebec and, when available, all of Canada. Results: Alcohol and drug use among Inuit increased significantly between 1992 and 2004, particularly among young adults. Alcohol users consumed significantly more alcohol per drinking episode than other Canadians in both time periods. Considerable cannabis use was widespread. In 2004, no significant differences in frequencies of heavy drinking episodes were observed by gender, with 60% of drug users consuming alcohol on a regular basis. Conclusions: As in other populations from North America, this study profiles the increase in substance use among Inuit from Nunavik in the first part of the last 20 years. We observed distinct substance use patterns among them in comparison to other Canadians. Such findings, if replicated in the coming years, emphasize the need for major, culturally-relevant public health interventions in this population. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marilyn Fortin Richard E. Bélanger Olivier Boucher Gina Muckle |
author_facet |
Marilyn Fortin Richard E. Bélanger Olivier Boucher Gina Muckle |
author_sort |
Marilyn Fortin |
title |
Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada |
title_short |
Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada |
title_full |
Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among Inuit of Northern Quebec, Canada |
title_sort |
temporal trends of alcohol and drug use among inuit of northern quebec, canada |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v74.29146 https://doaj.org/article/ddab22f0524e487ea5599d1723636df4 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Nunavik |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Nunavik |
genre |
Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health inuit Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health inuit Nunavik |
op_source |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 74, Iss 0, Pp 1-9 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net/index.php/ijch/article/view/29146/pdf_58 https://doaj.org/toc/2242-3982 2242-3982 doi:10.3402/ijch.v74.29146 https://doaj.org/article/ddab22f0524e487ea5599d1723636df4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v74.29146 |
container_title |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
container_volume |
74 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
29146 |
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1766341739549818880 |