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Health Status of Aboriginal People in Ontario

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Submitted By taylorveran
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Health Status of Aboriginal people in Ontario

By:
Taylor Veran

Health Careers and Informatics
Lorrie Lough
November 1st, 2012

The majority of health issues that the Aboriginal community faces are related directly and indirectly to social, economic, cultural and political areas. Infrastructure, housing, employment, income, environmental and education are connected to the individual and community based effects of health.
The health status of aboriginals in Ontario is very poor. There are a lot of health care needs for aboriginals that live in Northwest Ontario, also because the population is so high. The first nations population is the largest (958,000) Followed by the Metis (266,000) and the Inuit (51,000). Every year the population of aboriginals increases. The health status, diseases and life style of these people should be monitored and taken care of to an extent. Aboriginal population is relatively young in Ontario. The birth rate is two times the rate of the Canadian population, which is very high. Aboriginals seem to rank lower education, have higher rates of unemployment, along with higher rates of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, which can lead to needing a lot of health care. (Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah. 2005, page. 3) Some may argue that the health issues are genetic, but health means more than the absence of disease. A look at the history of colonization and the creation of the reservation system that forced removal of children to far away communities and institutions, relocation to unfamiliar lands and tortured relations caused suffering from inequality. This directly affected the health and well being of the Aboriginal communities.

The aboriginal population experiences a lot of infectious diseases. The First Nations in Ontario believe that it is because they don’t receive the same level of health care services as the rest of the

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