Design of a human biomonitoring community-based project in the Northwest Territories Mackenzie Valley, Canada, to investigate the links between nutrition, contaminants and country foods

Int J Circumpolar Health. 2018 Dec;77(1):1510714. doi: 10.1080/22423982.2018.1510714.

Abstract

Community-based projects place emphasis on a collaborative approach and facilitate research among Indigenous populations regarding local issues and challenges, such as traditional foods consumption, climate change and health safety. Country foods (locally harvested fish, game birds, land animals and plants), which contribute to improved food security, can also be a primary route of contaminant exposure among populations in remote regions. A community-based project was launched in the Dehcho and Sahtù regions of the Northwest Territories (Canada) to: 1) assess contaminants exposure and nutrition status; 2) investigate the role of country food on nutrient and contaminant levels and 3) understand the determinants of message perception on this issue. Consultation with community members, leadership, local partners and researchers was essential to refine the design of the project and implement it in a culturally relevant way. This article details the design of a community-based biomonitoring study that investigates country food use, contaminant exposure and nutritional status in Canadian subarctic First Nations in the Dehcho and Sahtù regions. Results will support environmental health policies in the future for these communities. The project was designed to explore the risks and benefits of country foods and to inform the development of public health strategies.

Keywords: Dene; First Nations; biomarker; biomonitoring; community; contaminants; exposure; north; risk assessment; traditional foods.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arctic Regions / epidemiology
  • Communication
  • Community Participation / methods*
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods*
  • Environmental Pollutants / analysis*
  • Food Contamination / analysis*
  • Food Supply / standards*
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American*
  • Northwest Territories / epidemiology
  • Nutritional Status

Substances

  • Environmental Pollutants

Grants and funding

Funding for this work was provided by the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP), which is jointly supported by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Health Canada. Additional support was received from Global Water Futures (GWF), Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) and the University of Waterloo. Supplemental analyses for contaminants outside the NCP mandate were funded by the Population Biomonitoring Section (Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch) of Health Canada.