Grant: SPOR Network in Primary and Integrated Health Care Innovations - NT

Health care in Canada's North faces considerable challenges with its remote and widely dispersed population, harsh environmental conditions, and thinly deployed health professionals. Despite per capita expenditures that are among the highest in the world, health outcomes continue to lag behind the rest of Canada, and health disparities between the Aboriginal and non-aboriginal population within the North continue to persist. While improving the health of northerners requires addressing underlying social determinants, transforming the health care system holds promise in the short and medium term. The evidence required to inform a northern-focused and relevant transformation, however, remains to be generated. The establishment of a SPOR Network in Primary and Integrated Health Care Innovations is timely. Its intention to include the northern territories fills a capacity gap that has long been recognized by northern governments and communities. The Institute for Circumpolar Health Research (ICHR) and its partners in the territorial governments, regional health authorities, Indigenous organizations, and academic research institutions will consolidate and further develop a northern-based network and apply for membership in the national Network.