Grant: Team Grant: STEPS - Indigenous Communities for Cardiovascular Health

The two most common causes of illness and death in Canada are heart disease and stroke and First Nations peoples are more likely than the general population to suffer from these conditions. First Nations ways of knowing, being, and doing are seldom taken into consideration when designing many of the current primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention programs, which frequently ignore the significance of culture, land, art, and community ties in promoting healing, health, and wholistic well-being. Through this project, researchers, Elders Knowledge Keepers, and leaders of First Nations communities will collaborate to develop a novel culturally-based strategy for promoting cardiovascular health that is driven by First Nations communities. Our mission is to support dynamic long-lasting community health systems that enhance wholistic wellness and prevent heart disease. We will create and implement programs that represent First Nations distinctions-based worldviews values and traditions in collaboration with our partner communities. This includes safe forums for community discussions about heart health and wellness, CVD risk factors and early warning indicators of stroke and cardiac arrest as well as opportunities for land-based physical activity, arts-based therapies, and culturally appropriate nutrition programs. Building capacity is one of our main goals. Community health champions will receive training in blood pressure monitoring, heart health education, and life-saving techniques (like CPR and AED use). This project aims to create environments that are heart-healthy for present and future generations not just to prevent disease. Our goals are to lower barriers to participation to enable First Nations communities to lead and promote long-term sustainable improvements in heart health and wellness by braiding Indigenous knowledges with Western science.