Self-reported Effects of Water on Health in First Nations Communities in Saskatchewan, Canada: Results From Community-Based Participatory Research.

Water-related health challenges on First Nations reserves in Canada have been previously documented. Our objective was to describe factors associated with self-reported health effects from tap water in 8 First Nations reserve communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Community-based participatory approaches were used in designing and implementing cross-sectional household surveys. Individual, household, community, and contextual effects were considered in multilevel analysis. Negative health effects from tap water were reported by 28% of households (n = 579). Concerns about environmental factors affecting water quality (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.8-6.7), rarely or never drinking tap water (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.3-6.6), insufficient tap water (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.4-6.3), paying for bottled water (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.2-8.7), and dissatisfaction with tap water were associated with self-reported health effects (n = 393); however, the effect of dissatisfaction was modified by respondent age (P = .03). Quality and availability were associated with perceptions of health effects from drinking water, providing additional information on how ongoing concerns about drinking water influence self-reported health in some First Nations.

[Healthy ageing in a linguistic minority situation in Canada: issues, challenges and collective mobilization]. / Vieillir en sante en situation minoritaire linguistique au Canada: enjeux, defis et mobilisation collective.

In Canada, the health of both French and English speakers living in linguistic minority situations is a subject of interest to several researchers and community organizations. This article draws upon a symposium on the theme of healthy ageing in a linguistic minority situation, presented at the 4th International Colloquium for Local and Regional Health Programmes. Three aspects are presented: the identification of factors associated with perceived health, home care and malnutrition screening. The results describe: (a) The determinants of perceived health, such as health care services, the vitality of the minority community and education; (b) The lack of changes to home care services, despite the ageing of the population; and (c) The high prevalence of malnutrition among the elderly in New Brunswick, Canada. Finally, we make suggestions regarding the design and implementation of a national policy on ageing in Canada, in order to ensure high-quality services along the entire health continuum.