Abstract
Unintentional injury and trauma rates are disproportionately high in Inuit regions, and environmental changes are predicted to exacerbate injury rates. However, there is a major gap in our understanding of the risk factors contributing to land-based injury and trauma in the Arctic. We investigated the role of environmental and other factors in search and rescue (SAR) incidents in a remote Inuit community in northern Canada using a collaborative mixed methods approach. We analyzed SAR records from 1995 to 2010 and conducted key consultant interviews in 2010 and 2011. Data showed an estimated annual SAR incidence rate of 19 individuals per 1,000. Weather and ice conditions were the most frequent contributing factor for cases. In contrast with other studies, intoxication was the least common factor associated with SAR incidents. The incidence rate was six times higher for males than females, while land-users aged 26–35 had the highest incidence rate among age groups. Thirty-four percent of individuals sustained physical health impacts. Results demonstrate that environmental conditions are critical factors contributing to physical health risk in Inuit communities, particularly related to travel on sea ice during winter. Age and gender are important risk factors. This knowledge is vital for informing management of land-based physical health risk given rapidly changing environmental conditions in the Arctic.
Highlights
The preventable death in 2012 of Burton Winters, an Inuit adolescent who perished after becoming lost the sea ice in Labrador, Canada, resonated widely with Canadians, making national headlines as people expressed their sadness and outrage [1]
As reported by NGSAR and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) consultants, the volunteer-based Nain search and rescue team (NGSAR) is the main group that carries out SAR operations in the Nain area and is mainly active during the winter season
The RCMP will contact the federal Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia for assistance—one of three federal SAR centres in Canada jointly operated by the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) [34]
Summary
The preventable death in 2012 of Burton Winters, an Inuit adolescent who perished after becoming lost the sea ice in Labrador, Canada, resonated widely with Canadians, making national headlines as people expressed their sadness and outrage [1]. Despite the increase in public attention on travel safety and search and rescue (SAR) in Canada’s Arctic, and ongoing reports from northern communities about increasing injuries related to environmental changes [2,3], there are still major gaps in our knowledge of factors contributing to land-based injury and trauma in the North (meaning occurring on land, ice, or water). Understanding these determinants is critical for mitigating unintentional injury and trauma and may help prevent deaths like this from occurring in the future. Reducing unintentional injuries and drownings related to poor ice conditions has been identified as an important strategy for addressing the disparity in injury rates between Inuit and non-Inuit Canadians [14,15]
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