A sponsored by Indigenous Services Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health analyzing the mortality of northern Ontario First Nation communities has found 4 out of 10 deaths could potentially have been avoided with access to effective and timely health care.
The report, published by the Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services under the Mamow Ahyamowen partnership, analyzed 5,837 deaths from 59 participating communities spanning 1992 to 2014.
Those deaths were cross referenced through several interconnected databases; including the Indian Registry System, the Ontario Registered Persons Database, the Ontario Registrar General鈥檚 Death file and health administration data in order to build an accurate view of the mortality data.
What does the report say?
The report breaks down mortality rate and causes in the participating communities and compares those findings to the rest of Ontario.
It found that 53 per cent of all deaths studied 鈥渙ccurred before retirement age (65 years old) compared to 22 per cent for Ontario overall.鈥�
- 59 per cent of deaths among men in the communities studied occurred before the age of 65
- 46 per cent of deaths among women in the communities studied occurred before the age of 65
Four out of every 10 deaths in the communities studied had the potential to be avoided with access to 鈥渆ffective and timely health care or public health intervention.鈥�
The rate of death among the communities studied from 1992-2014 was calculated to 105 deaths for every 1000 community members - 1.3 times higher than Ontario overall.
Common causes of death
There were six major causes identified and explored in the report:
- Circulatory ailments, like stroke and heart attacks, accounted for 28 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� 1.2 times the rate for Ontario overall
- Diabetes accounted for 8 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� 3.9 times the rate for Ontario overall
- Respiratory ailments accounted for 8 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� 1.4 times the rate for Ontario overall
- Infections accounted for 3 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� 1.7 times the rate for Ontario overall
- Cancers accounted for 21 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� the same as Ontario overall
- Intentional and Unintentional Injuries accounted for 16 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� 2.3 times the rate for Ontario overall.
The data for deaths due to injuries, intentional or not, include suicides, overdose deaths, motor vehicle accidents, homicides and accidental falls.
- Deaths due to 鈥渙ther鈥� factors accounted for 17 deaths per 1000 community members 鈥� 1.2 times the rate for Ontario overall.
Chronic conditions at time of death
A comparison of the deaths studied that showed the presence of chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney failure, was lower than the overall rate in Ontario.
The reports findings posit that this could be due to the community members dying much younger and therefore not contracting the many common chronic illnesses that can affect elderly.
- 8 per cent of the deaths studied had no evidence of chronic diseases versus 3 per cent for Ontario overall
- 21 per cent of the deaths studied had 1 or 2 chronic diseases versus 18 per cent for Ontario overall
- 13 per cent of the deaths studied had 3 chronic diseases versus 14 per cent of Ontario overall
- 58 per cent of the deaths studied had 4 or more chronic diseases versus the 65 per cent of Ontario overall.
The data paints a complex portrait of health among northern Ontario First Nation communities, and a closer examination of the data sets also allows a comparison of deaths among men and women in the communities and to Ontario overall.
For example, the rate of death from diabetes in the northern Ontario First Nation communities is 3.9 per cent higher than Ontario overall, but 鈥渨omen aged 35-74鈥were] more likely to have a history of diabetes when they die compared to men.鈥�
The report found that women in the communities studied were also 鈥渕ore likely to have a history of a heart condition when they die compared to men.鈥�
Comparatively, while the communities studied overall were more likely to have a history of addiction or substance use when they die compared to Ontario, 鈥渕en in the communities 45-74鈥were] more likely to have a history of addiction or substance use when they died compared to women.鈥�
The report reiterates the need for more comprehensive, efficient and timely healthcare initiatives in northern Ontario First Nations communities.
