Grant: Operating Grant - PA: First Nations, Inuit and Metis Health

The federal government currently funds and operates health programs in northern Canadian Aboriginal communities through a variety of intersectoral partnerships and funding arrangements. A recent report by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada recommended expansion of grant-based funding in communities deemed "desirable" on the basis of compliance and accountability. Differences in community size, remoteness and capacity mean that not all First Nations communities are able to access competitive program funds. The resulting landscape of health program implementation is one where existing inequities in health are further exacerbated by unequal implementation of federal health program funding and services. The proposed research is a community-centered evaluation of the capacity of Yukon First Nations to access and implement federal health programs, with the goal of developing capacity and thereby improving health outcomes for Yukon residents. Using a conceptual model which locates the local health system within larger national program frameworks, the study methodology evaluates existing health programs, maps program delivery, identifies key actors and roles in access and implementation of programs, examines the impact of social organization, power and political culture on programs, and incorporates two robust knowledge translation phases that ground the research in participatory process. With a strong research team and territorial partnerships, the proposed research examines the implementation and intersection of existing programs under the current funding model, processes that are not yet well understood, with the goal of improving the capacity of communities to access health program funds in an increasingly competitive federal funding environment. The research has wider implications for other indigenous communities who contract with government and non-governmental service providers to access population health interventions.