NunaMed Orientation
Tunngasugit! Welcome! Bienvenue!
Healthcare in Nunavut
The territory of Nunavut is divided into three regions: Qikiqtaaluk region, Kitikmeot region and the Kivalliq region.
The Qikiqtaaluk area, also known as the Baffin region, has 12 communities including the city of Iqaluit. The Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit is the main referral and serves a population of approximately 19 000 people
Community Health Centres
Each community has a health centre (HC) that provides frontline primary care to patients. It is staffed with community health nurses (CHNs) and one Supervisor of Health Programming (SHP). The SHP acts as a case manager and primary care coordinator for the patients in their community.
Each community has a physician assigned to provide coverage for non-urgent, primary care issues. The most common method of communication between the CHNs and community physician is via Government of Nunavut (GN) email. Each health centre has regularly scheduled MD visits for cases referred by the CHNs.
Snapshot Statistics
Demographics
In 2021, there were 39,403 people living in Nunavut. Nearly 85% of the population identifies are Inuit. Nunavut also has the youngest population in Canada with 31.7% of residents being under 15 years of age, which is almost twice the national average.
Language
Inuktitut is largely spoken or understood throughout Nunavut. In 2016, the total Inuit population with Inuktitut as their mother tongue was 74% and 49.3% are unilingual. Knowledge of English is widespread with 89% of the population being able to speak it.
Population growth
Mothers in Nunavut are the youngest in the country and report having more children than elsewhere in Canada. The fertility rate in Nunavut is 2.75 births per mother over the course of a lifetime, whereas the Canadian average is 1.47 births per woman.
Income and Housing
The total median income for Inuit aged 24-64 ranged from 21,000 for those without a diploma to 47,000 for those with post-secondary credentials. Three in ten Inuit report having completed post-secondary education. In Iqaluit, it would take an income level of $139,000 to afford the purchase of a single detached home. Four in ten Inuit now live in a crowded home and 70% of Inuit are food insecure.
Tobacco
According to territorial data, 64.8% of Nunavut’s population over 12 years of age reported being smokers. The most common cancer in Nunavut is lung cancer, accounting for 39% of invasive cancer cases.
Violence and Suicide
In the one year period between 2017 and 2018, 519 persons, 268 of whom were children, were admitted to family violence shelters in Nunavut. Adverse childhood experiences have been been attributed to 80% of childhood and adolescent suicide attempts. Between 1999 and 2017, 545 Inuit died by suicide, and 62% were under the age of 25.
Sexually Transmitted Infections
The rates of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are 20 times higher in Nunavut than the national average. In fact, 20% of Nunavut school children have been treated for an STI, putting this population an increased risk for HIV.
Tuberculosis
The highest incidence of TB in Canada can be found within Nunavut. In 2017, the TB incidence rate was 205 per 100 000 in Inuit Nunangat compared with 0.5 per 100 000 in nonindigenous Canadians.
Cancer
The incidence rate of cancer is lower in Nunavut when compared to the national average, 382 per 100,000 and 467 per 100,000 respectively. However, mortality rates are higher in Nunavut. The death rates for lung cancer and colorectal cancers are four to five times higher in Nunavut than of Canada as a whole.