Grant: Project Grant

First Nations peoples in Canada have more challenges with their lung health compared to non-First Nations people. They are often exposed to more air pollution and cigarette smoke and have a high prevalence of cough, wheeze and shortness of breath. Although there is a high use of health care services for chronic lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this disease is not "on the radar" in many First Nations communities. This may be because we do not know how many First Nations people have COPD, especially those living in remote and rural areas. We know that cigarette smoking causes COPD, but there is much less known about the effects of household, historical/community/cultural, and work-related factors on the burden of COPD in First Nations people. This project is a new partnership between UBC, Carrier Sekani Family Services and eleven partner Nations. This study is unique in being able to address the individual, community, and historical risks of COPD in remote and rural First Nations communities. The goal of this study is to better understand the burden of COPD in remote and rural First Nations communities. Aim 1: Estimate how many people have COPD and how many people have not been diagnosed. Aim 2: Find out if there is a link between inhaled pollutants (from household, work-related, and historical/community/cultural sources) and: 1) symptoms; 2) blocked airflow; and 3) health care use. In order to do this, we will recruit adults from randomly-selected households in eleven First Nations communities in northern BC. We will collect detailed measures of lung function, symptoms, self-reported current & past exposure to lung irritants, and health care use. We will also collect indoor air quality measures from homes and community buildings. With the study results, communities will be able to better plan for health services, and create prevention strategies to reduce the chance of First Nations people developing COPD in the future.