Housing linked to children's health
Statistics Canada report concludes crowding associated with poor outcomes
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, December 7, 2015
NUNAVUT
Housing satisfaction and the physical and mental health of young Inuit children are linked, according to a health report released by Statistics Canada Nov. 18, demonstrating yet again the housing crisis in Nunavut is having a critical, likely long-term impact on the well being of its Inuit residents.
Titled Housing and Health among Inuit children, the report also pulls into its population-based analysis another factor plaguing the territory - home ownership.
"The thing that's important for this study is that it looked at both physical housing characteristics and the psychosocial characteristics that have an impact," stated Dafna Kohen, chief and senior research analyst with the health analysis division.
"And they do have an impact on young children, which is a very important time in terms of development and future health."
Negative physical characteristics were defined as overcrowding, dwellings in need of repair and lack of affordability. Positive socio-economic characteristics were defined as home ownership and housing satisfaction. One specific analysis includes everything in the model.
"When you look at all those together, housing satisfaction was the most important factor related to the children's health outcome," said Kohen.
"Some of those physical housing characteristics are relating to housing satisfaction, so it's an interplay of these things. You can't say it's just one thing."
The data used is from the 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey, which was part of that year's census. The study sample consisted of 1,233 children ages two to five, who were identified by parents or guardians as Inuit.
The report states 36 per cent of Inuit children lived in overcrowded conditions, as compared to seven per cent of non-aboriginal children. Similarly, 29 per cent of Inuit children lived in homes needing major repairs as compared to eight per cent of the children in the non-aboriginal population.
"Crowding in particular," said Kohen, "was associated with poor child health ratings and increased likelihood of two or more ear infections and in terms of behavioural symptoms, emotional symptoms and conduct problems."
In a 2012 document released by the Nunavut Roundtable for Poverty Reduction titled Understanding Poverty in Nunavut, the authors report public housing accounts for almost 60 per cent of Nunavut households, with 99 per cent of those Inuit.
"The majority of households pay rent rather than a mortgage. Unassisted private ownership accounts for approximately 22 per cent of homes in Nunavut compared to 67 per cent nationally," states the report.
Home ownership is related to positive child outcomes, said Kohen.
"Home ownership was related to a higher likelihood of (children) being rated in excellent or very good health, as well as lower scores of emotional or conduct problems."
Three-quarters of the children studied lived in Inuit Nunangat, or the four Inuit regions. Of those, 49 per cent were in Nunavut, 20 per cent were in Nunavik, three per cent in Nunatsiavut, and four per cent in Inuvialuit. The remaining 24 per cent lived outside Inuit Nunangat.
"We do show the rates of home ownership in the different regions," said Kohen. "Home ownership is lower in Nunavut than Nunatsiavut or Inuvialuit, as well as outside Inuit Nunangat."
In an interview with Nunavut News/North after the mid-term leadership forum earlier in the month, Premier Peter Taptuna said he intends to be aggressive about funding for housing, and strategically ask for help in other areas of social need.
"It's a real challenge to get what we want up here. There are many infrastructure needs - to tackle some of these social issues that Nunavummiut face daily ... there's a lack of housing. First and foremost, that's a basic necessity."
