Social Paediatrics in Saskatoon in Association with St. Mary's

Saskatoon Tribal Council
Providing opportunities to improve quality of life has been the value added
ingredient of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) since Felix Thomas became Tribal
Chief in October 2008. Leadership and staff had long been aware that the health status of
their members rarely equaled that of the general Canadian population. This was officially
confirmed by the findings in The First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey
(commonly abbreviated to RHS). Unique in the world, it is longitudinal in nature and
collects information based on both Western and traditional understandings of health and
wellbeing. The first wave was completed in 1997-98 and was followed up with Wave II
(2003) and Phase 3 (2008). Further evidence was made available in 2005 when the first
health index completed by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that
Canadians’ health status consistently ranked as one of the top three countries in the
world. Further analysis (using WHO’s methodology) showed that Canada’s First
Nations’ people often fell below third world countries in several important measures.
It was this background that led to STC’s involvement in a research project
focused on the City of Saskatoon’s population health status funded by the Canadian
Institute of Health Research (CIHR). The initial findings of the Health Disparity in
Saskatoon report (officially released in November 2006) were disconcerting, revealing
disparities beyond anything even STC expected to see. Disparities ranged from 30% to
over 3000%. Anything beyond a 10% disparity is normally responded to with
aggressive strategies of redress. This response by the mandated authority/authorities did
not occur. It was left to the Saskatoon Tribal Council and concerned community and
public service organizations to address the gaps as best they could.
STC Leadership strategically responded to address the disparities faced by their
members and First Nations people living in Saskatoon. Focusing on the strengths,
knowledge and demonstrated successes of the on-Reserve programs, STC launched their
Saskatoon Core Neighbourhoods Immunization Program in May of 2006. One of the
findings in the Health Disparity in Saskatoon report was that children living in the six
core neighbourhoods (predominantly First Nations) had immunization rates ranging from
29% to 40%. This translated to a gap of anywhere from 45% to 80% in immunization
coverage.
Shortly thereafter, the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) approached
STC with the idea of a collaborative partnership between the parties and the University of
Saskatchewan, College of Medicine, Department of Paediatrics to address some of the
© Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division 2011 17