Residential School Survivors: What recommendations currently exist to guide Family Physicians in caring for patients who were part of the Residential School System in Canada?

• Main Author: Dufour, Adrienne Danelle
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: UBC Journal of Family Practice Research and Scholarship 2015
• Subjects: Canada; First Nations; inuit
• Online Access: http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/familypractice/article/view/186643

Introduction & Background: The Residential School system operated in Canada from the 1830s to 1996 under the direction of the federal government and various religious groups. An estimated 150, 000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children from across the country were removed from their homes to attend residential schools. There are countless reports of physical, sexual and mental abuse arising from the Residential School system. Individual experiences are diverse and there are often lifelong medical issues as a result of those experiences for “Residential School Survivors ”. Despite increased recognition of the lasting impact of residential schools, it is uncertain whether, or what, guidelines are available to guide the Family Physician in caring for patients who are Residential School Survivors. The object of this study is to identify what recommendations/guidelines/considerations currently exist to guide Family Physicians in the management of patients identified as Residential School Survivors.Methods: Given the diverse range of experiences and impact of attendance within the Residential School System, a Scoping Literature Review was felt to be the optimal study design to capture both peer-reviewed and grey literature related to the subject. A variety of databases including Medline, PsychInfo and the Canadian Health Research Collection, were searched using the term “Residential School Survivor”. Other sources of grey literature were obtained from the resources of key organizations including the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO), National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH), Indigenous Physicians Association of C anada (IPAC), Aboriginal Healing Foundation and Health Canada First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. Titles and abstracts were first reviewed, then where there was direct relevance to Residential School Survivors and health related issues that would normally be managed by a Family Physician, a full text review was conducted. Studies focusing on the intergenerational ...