Grant: Operating Grant

In Canada, heart health trends suggest difference in health between First Nations People and other Canadians. The number of First Nations People with heart disease is higher, the age at which heart diseases are diagnosed is younger, and their post heart attack health is worse. While high rates of cardiovascular risk factors play a role, difference is treatment trends also plays a factor. Still the type of evidence available influences our understanding of health difference and guides how to address it. Health topics are commonly known through a western scientific/biomedical worldview, which tends to focus on physical symptoms, health interventions, and individual blaming for lifestyle choices. The dominance of a biomedical perspective is often privileged at the expense of silencing and delegitimizing alternative ways of knowing; such as Indigenous knowledge and evidence of historical and colonizing factors influencing health. Sustaining this privilege of western science and biomedicine is unlikely to diminish health burdens and arguably will serve to increase inequities. A four year study using multiple research methods will be governed by a two-eyed seeing approach and decolonizing methodologies in an effort to disrupt use of a singular worldview. Diverse First Nations and healthcare community members have shaped the development of this study, which values and respects biomedical, Indigenous, and historical/decolonizing perspectives concerning heart health among First Nations People. Evidence from this study will extend our understanding of coronary artery disease severity and complexity, long term health outcomes, and experiences from the perspective of First Nation patients, family members, and Elders. The goal is to diversify how we understand heart health, which will guide novel next steps to address identified heart health concerns and other health disparities notable among First Nations People.