Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec;80(1):1946324.
doi: 10.1080/22423982.2021.1946324.

Acute health care among Indigenous patients in Canada: a scoping review

Laura-Philippe Vigneault  1 , Ella Diendere  2 , Catherine Sohier-Poirier  1 , Margo Abi Hanna  3 , Annie Poirier  4 , Maude St-Onge  4
Affiliations

Acute health care among Indigenous patients in Canada: a scoping review

Laura-Philippe Vigneault et al. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

A recent report by the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada demonstrates the inferior health status of Indigenous Peoples in Canada when compared to non-Indigenous populations. This scoping review maps out the available literature concerning acute health care for Indigenous Peoples in Canada in order to better understand the health care issues they face. All existing articles concerning health care provided to Indigenous Peoples in Canada in acute settings were included in this review. The targeted studied outcomes were access to care, health care satisfaction, hospital visit rates, mortality, quality of care, length of stay and cost per hospitalisation. 114 articles were identified. The most studied outcomes were hospitalisation rates (58.8%), length of stay (28.0%), mortality (25.4%) and quality of care (24.6%) Frequently studied topics included pulmonary disease, injuries, cardiovascular disease and mental illness. Indigenous Peoples presented lower levels of satisfaction and access to care although they tend to be over-represented in hospitalisation rates for acute care. Greater inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in the health care system and in the training of health care providers is necessary to ensure a better quality of care that is culturally safe for Indigenous Peoples.

Keywords: Canadians’ health; Indigenous health; acute health care; emergency department; hospitalisation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Research strategy for medline
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Flow diagram
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Distribution of articles by province
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Studies’ design
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Distribution of articles by year of publication
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux . Particularités des services aux Premières Nations et aux Inuits [Internet]. Santé et services sociaux Québec. 2016. [cited 2020 Mar 16]. Available from: https://www.msss.gouv.qc.ca/professionnels/soins-et-services/particulari...
    1. Agence de la santé publique du Canada . État de santé des canadiens 2016: rapport de l’administrateur en chef de la santé publique. Gouvernement du Canada. 2016.
    1. Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications Branch . Indigenous peoples and communities [Internet]. Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications Branch. 2017. [cited 2021 May 23]. Available from: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303
    1. Miller JR Residential Schools in Canada [Internet]. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2020. [cited 2021 May 24]. Available from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools
    1. Menzies P Intergenerational Trauma and Residential Schools [Internet]. Intergenerational Trauma and Residential Schools | The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2020. [cited 2021 May 24]. Available from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/intergenerational-trau...

Publication types