Indigenous people in Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) experience significant health disparities on every major health indicator, including lower life expectancies and higher infant mortality rates while Indigenous peoples continue to be under-serviced for health care, and do not have the same access to healthcare providers as other Canadians.
To address some of these needs, we have created the Indigenous Health Conference which is an interdisciplinary event that will take place November 20th and 21st 2014 in Toronto. The Conference Committee primarily consists of members who are Indigenous healthcare providers and/or individuals with extensive experience working with Indigenous populations.
This conference would be of interest to healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, community health representatives, rehab, etc.), but also to policy makers, and public health specialists. The conference objectives are to facilitate the translation and dissemination of knowledge and improve cultural sensitivity about Indigenous health in Canada. In addition the Job Fair would help match providers with working opportunities with Indigenous peoples, both rural and urban.
It is believed that through examining the evidence and creating dialogue with Indigenous peoples, experts in the field and healthcare providers, we can help create better educated, more culturally competent health care providers for Indigenous peoples. In turn, this will improve the health care service, improve the understanding of healthcare needs, help formulate community-based research questions and improve advocacy for Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Conference objectives include:
- Discuss health disparities & burden of disease among Indigenous peoples in Canada, highlighting certain conditions with a high burden of disease.
- Start a dialogue about potential long term solutions towards health equity.
- Challenge stereotypes and misperceptions about Indigenous peoples in Canada.
- Discuss cultural competencies and safety in working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations.
- Job Fair to facilitate matching healthcare providers with working opportunities with Indigenous populations.