The National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH) supports a renewed public health system in Canada that is inclusive and respectful of diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Using a holistic, co-ordinated and strengths-based approach to health, the NCCAH fosters links between evidence, knowledge, practice and policy while advancing self-determination and Indigenous knowledge in support of optimal health and well-being.

Goals

• Promote the use of reliable, quality evidence in the efforts of service delivery agencies, research centres, policy makers, and communities to achieve meaningful impact on the public health system in support of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada.
  
• Increase knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal public health by developing culturally relevant materials, projects and activities.
  
• Establish and strengthen partnerships to facilitate greater participation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in public health initiatives that affect their health and well-being.

Work to Date

• Partnered with UNICEF Canada in the Canadian Supplement to the State of the World's Children 2009: Aboriginal Children's Health: Leaving no child behind. The report drew national and international attention to the health of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Canada and offered solutions for change.
  
• Played a leadership role facilitating Indigenous perspectives to the World  Health Organization's 2008 global study on the social determinants of health and hosted two national forums with Aboriginal organizations exploring a multisectoral approach to improving Aboriginal public health outcomes. NCCAH DVD documentaries on this vital approach to health have been released in Canada and internationally.
  
• Hosted two national gatherings supporting Aboriginal parents in the care and health of children, helping to address disrupted parenting skills linked to issues such as the residential school era. A 2011 showcase focused on the pressing need to support Indigenous fathers in communities, programs, research and policies in Canada, building on evidence that responsible father involvement is a protective factor in healthy child development.
  
• Released an updated report in 2011 mapping the research landscape in Aboriginal health in Canada. Landscapes of First Nations, Inuit and Métis health: An updated environmental scan provides a comprehensive picture of existing knowledge and current directions in Aboriginal peoples' health in Canada, and indicates gaps in research and data that require attention.
  

Current Activities 2011-2012

• Child and Youth Health –  A partnership  with the Canadian Paediatric Society will introduce curriculum to sixteen universities across Canada in 2011, effectively educating the next generation of paediatric physicians in best practices in First Nations, Métis and Inuit child and youth health. The cultural competency module and related DVD were delivered at two training-the-trainer sessions in May 2011. In addition, the NCCAH's work in Aboriginal parenting continues to focus on research, best practices, and enablers of success related to Aboriginal parenting programs across Canada.
  

• Indigenous Social Determinants of Health – The NCCAH is strengthening awareness of the complex links between Aboriginal health and issues such as language, health services access and traditional diets. An edited book, an academic publication, and an international panel deepening understanding of the key role of Indigenous knowledge in health are leading projects furthering the agenda on this critical approach to Aboriginal health and well-being.

• Emerging Public Health Priorities – The Centre is involved in creative approaches to knowledge sharing for improved understanding of complex Aboriginal health issues.  It is currently exploring  links between ecohealth and Aboriginal health, and supporting an upcoming journal dedicated to Indigenous health in relation to place. A national 2011 Aboriginal Vision Health awareness campaign on diabetes-related blindness is also underway in a partnership with the Vision Institute of Canada and the Canadian Association of Optometrists.
  

Host

University of Northern British Columbia

Contact Information

The National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way
Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9

Phone: 250-960-5250
Fax: 250-960-5644
email: nccah@unbc.ca

www.nccah-ccnsa.ca