Cancer care and control in Inuit Nunangat

August 1, 2012

Learn about the cancer journey for each of the Inuit Nunangat regions, and promising, culturally responsive resources and services

This foundational 2012 environmental scan aims to describe cancer journeys for each of the Inuit Nunangat regions: the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik in Northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut in Labrador. This scan also aims to identify innovative and promising practices, and culturally responsive resources and services across the cancer-care continuum.

The four regions of Inuit Nunangat are home to approximately 40,000 Inuit living in 53 communities spanning the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic. Communities are small, and populations range from under 200 to over 6,600 in Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit. Because there are few roads within and between communities, most communities rely upon year-round air services and seasonal marine shipping as their primary transportation. Providing health-care services to these small, isolated communities can be challenging and expensive.

This report follows three objectives:

1. Describe typical cancer-care pathways for each of the Inuit Nunangat regions and focus on the health-care delivery systems.
2. Identify innovative or promising practices from across the continuum of cancer care.
3. Identify culturally responsive cancer-control resources and services.

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