Yellowknife (Dec 24/04) - NWT residents are 2.3 times more likely to die of an injury than other Canadians, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Social Services.

The report, titled Injury in the Northwest Territories, paints an intriguing portrait of injury rates in this territory.

Chief coroner Percy Kinney: Alcohol often involved in injury deaths.

Alarming as some of the statistics might be - the suicide rate of men aged 15 to 24, for instance, is almost three times that of Canada - neither chief medical officer Dr. Andre Corriveau or chief coroner Percy Kinney were particularly surprised by them.

"There were a few little things we maybe weren't fully aware of," said Corriveau, who noted that previous reports had flagged the extent of injuries.

"The thing that struck me is how the numbers correlate," said Kinney.

Because he deals only with fatalities, he hadn't been sure if the factors he saw in death cases translated to injury cases as well. Now he knows they often do.

According to the report, injuries account for 23 per cent of all deaths in the NWT - about the same as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Between the ages of one and 44, however, injury accounts for more deaths than all other causes combined.

The figure of NWT residents dying at 2.3 times the Canadian rate is age-adjusted, which solves the common problem of the territory's young population skewing statistics.

Still, Kinney was able to suggest a number of reasons why numbers may be higher here. He listed geography as one reason, because of the distance from care an injured person may be; the lack of a trauma centre in the North; the absence of comprehensive snowmachine legislation; the high usage of small planes; and, of course, alcohol.

In the coroner's 2003 report, it was stated that all homicides and half of suicides were alcohol-related. Additionally, 14 of the 19 accidental deaths in 2003 involved alcohol.

"At a minimum, at best on a good day, half of our (injury) deaths are alcohol-related," said Kinney. "Clearly alcohol is playing a huge role."

Coalition building

Health and social groups are already moving to address the concerns raised in the report.

On Dec. 8, the coroner's office, GNWT departments, the Workers' Compensation Board and other groups met to discuss its findings. Both Kinney and Corriveau said such collaborations are the way to move forward.

"I'm hoping to see a better collaboration between groups," said Kinney. "(With the report) we have a snapshot and we can work on a strategy."

"The intent of the report was to showcase how big a problem (injury) is and to get people talking about the priority areas," said Corriveau.

"People were very keen to continue these meetings."

Key areas for action identified by Corriveau include alcohol and mental health issues; elder safety; snowmobile, car and boat safety; and improved education and awareness.

"We need to involve more sectors than just health," he said.

Kinney couldn't help but wonder if there was a disjunction between holding the injury meeting, while "on the other side of town" the liquor board was debating allowing bars to open six Sundays a year. "It seems like we're financing both sides of the war," he said.