Grant: Fellowship - PA: First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis Health

Rural and remote communities in BC face a disproportionate burden of health challenges, with injury, hospitalization, disease, and mortality rates notably higher than in urban areas (FNHA & Office of the Provincial Health Officer, 2021). Most remote and isolated First Nations communities in BC have no paramedic station, no remote nursing station, and no consistent road access to the nearest rural hospital. In some communities, volunteer first responders may be the only health care providers serving the local emergency care needs. The purpose of this application is to examine the applicability of the framework for interventions in emergency care developed through the Kwiis hen niip Project, to understand and advocate for better emergency care in remote First Nations communities across the entire province of BC. Through collaboration with First Nations communities, the proposed project seeks to identify, document, and advocate for necessary improvements in emergency care services. The objective will be to highlight the common and community specific inequities in care across the province; and to catalyze the changes needed through the establishment of co-defined recommendations. The insights generated from these consultations will inform a report and list of recommendations prepared for relevant provincial and federal health organizations. The findings from this work will be relevant to Indigenous communities across Canada, in particular northern remote communities, as well as to rural global health more broadly. By engaging with both First Nations communities and health system organizations jointly in the ratification of recommendations, the proposed project will contribute to strengthening relationships between First Nations communities and emergency health service providers across the province.