Grant: Cat. Gr.: Indig. Appr. to Wellness Research - Wellness in circ./resp. health

For the last decade, community elders and health professionals in Elsipogtog FN have collaborated at the Eastern Door Center to develop culturally sensitive assessment and intervention tools for neurodevelopmental conditions related to intergenerational trauma. These tools use what a Mi'gmag elder called a 'Two Eyed Seeing' (TES) approach combining a traditional perspective and a scientific one. These tools have been effective in reducing the prevalence of FASD and related conditions. Currently, the Eastern Door team is working to integrate nutrition and iron deficiency (ID) related information into their TES Medicine Wheel Screening and Intervention Tools. In Canada, 13% of females 12-19 and 9% of females 20-49 years old have ID. Data from Inuit and Cree First Nations communities have shown that the prevalence of ID was 53%, with 36% of the children having ID-anemia. Recent data from Quebec shows that 15% of pregnant women do not meet iron intake requirements. On the other hand, children and youth with mental health and neurodevelop¬mental conditions often demonstrate disruptive sleep-/wake-behaviours that are closely associated with ID, e.g. ADHD or insomnia. In addition, animal studies implicate ID as aggravating the toxic effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. Clinically, iron supplementation is a known but often underutilized therapeutic option. The applicants believe that early identification and individualized clinical management of ID may have the potential to become part of prevention-based care in First Nations communities. This project will further promote the development and dissemination of culturally sensitive assessment and intervention tools that will explore life-style related factors contributing to ID and enable a proactive community based nutritional focus to promote the health and well being of youth and families in Elsipogtog and other Indigenous communities in Canada.