Digesting the Message about Contaminants and Country Foods in the Canadian North: A Review and Recommendations for Future Research and Action

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Communicating the risks of environmental contaminants in the food chain to northern Aboriginal peoples poses significant challenges for communities at risk and environment and health professionals alike. Reported results of poor risk communication practice on this issue include increased fear and confusion in northern communities, changes in the dietary behaviour and traditional lifestyles of their residents, and associated impacts on their society, economy, and health. A review of past communication research and activities on this issue in the Canadian North reveals a general ad hoc "learning by doing" approach to primarily one-way communication events. The lack of focused communication research on an issue that has garnered great focus and effort elsewhere in the country and continent has forced health professionals and communicators to rely on assumptions about the reception and level of comprehension of important health messages previously disseminated. The importance of this information is increasing as research begins to detect subtle health effects from exposure to these substances among newborns in some northern regions. Thus planning and evaluation are needed for risk communication, and possibly changes to the scale at which communication work is done in northern communities.Key words: environmental contaminants, health, risk communication, comprehension, evaluation, environmental health, communication research, country/traditional foods RÉSUMÉ. Le fait d'informer les peuples autochtones du Nord des risques associés à la présence de contaminants de l'environnement dans la chaîne alimentaire pose un défi de taille pour les collectivités exposées à ces risques, tout comme pour les professionnels de l'environnement et de la santé. Les résultats déjà rapportés d'une piètre pratique de divulgation des risques sur cette question mentionnent une augmentation de la peur et de la confusion dans les collectivités nordiques, des changements dans le comportement alimentaire et le style de vie traditionnel des résidents, et les impacts qui en résultent sur leur société, leur économie et leur santé. Un examen de la recherche en communications et des activités de divulgation antérieures sur cette question dans le Nord révèle que la communication est principalement unilatérale et se fait de façon improvisée sur le tas. Le manque d'une recherche en communications bien ciblée, sur une question ayant pris beaucoup d'ampleur et donné lieu à une importante mobilisation ailleurs à l'échelle du pays et du continent, ce manque donc a obligé les professionnels de la santé et les spécialistes en communications dans le domaine à se fier à des hypothèses quant à la réception et au niveau de compréhension d'importants messages relatifs à la santé diffusés antérieurement. Cette information acquiert de plus en plus d'importance à mesure que la recherche commence à détecter des effets ténus sur la santé dus à une exposition à ces contaminants chez les nouveau-nés dans certaines régions du Nord. Il faut donc procéder à une pl...

Gender and place influences on health risk perspectives in northern Canadian Aboriginal communities

“…In this study, threats to a traditional lifestyle and connection to the land ('place-identity') are strongly associated with risk perspectives. This research supports the lessons learned from other studies (such as Furgal, Powell, andMyers 2005 andO'Neil et al 1998) that understanding risk in a northern context requires an approach that recognizes the unique social, cultural, economic, and political identity of northern Aboriginal peoples. As evidenced by the gender differences revealed when incorporating qualitative measures, it is necessary to go beyond 'standard' methods 218 C.G.…”

“…An administered questionnaire was used to collect information on Gender, Place and Culture 207 demographics, health status, lifestyle, risk perspectives and communication. The questions were based in part on a previous survey conducted by Fletcher et al (1997) in Kuujjuarapik, Quebec and on similar surveys conducted in Nunatsiavut (Furgal, Powell, and Myers 2005). The questions covered a broad range of community concerns and types of potential risks (for example lifestyle behaviours such as smoking and drinking, physical risks incurred through the pursuit of traditional activities, and risks associated with exposure to environmental contaminants) designed to develop a thorough understanding of the knowledge and views of the multiple types of risks faced in these communities.…”

Long-Range Transport of Information: Are Arctic Residents Getting the Message about Contaminants?

“…Effective communication, it has been shown, depends on clearly identifying the target audiences and their characteristics (Powell and Leiss, 1997;Furgal et al, 2005). In this cross-cultural context of communication between scientists, government representatives, southern and northern-based Aboriginal organizations, and northern Aboriginal residents, perception and interpretation of the risk of contaminants in country food are inevitably affected by a number of factors (see Powell and Leiss, 1997;Mulligan et al, 1998;Furgal et al, 2005; Table 1).…”

“…There is a pressing need to evaluate how well the communication programs have worked in northern communities (Usher et al, 1995;Furgal et al, 2005): do people understand what contaminants are, where they are, and what the implications are for country food consumption and health? Given the goal of the federal program, to help northern peoples make informed decisions, it is important to understand how well these programs have educated the public about contaminants in country foods, their potential impacts on human health, and the nuances of healthy food choices, as well as what the current level of awareness of these issues is among key groups in the northern population.…”

“…Marine and land mammals, fish, wildfowl, and shellfish have provided food and the basis of many aspects of culture for millennia, and despite social and economic changes over the past few decades, these foods are still very important, both culturally and economically (Van Oostdam et al, 2003;Myers et al, 2004). The contamination of the Arctic environment and food sources has been a serious concern among northern residents (Usher et al, 1995;Poirier and Brooke, 2000;Furgal et al, 2005).…”