Advancements in Indigenous Health Research

Evidence-based practice is integral to the professional obligations and regulation of registered dietitians (RDs).¹ The Northern Ontario Dietetic Internship Program (NODIP) at NOSM is leading evidence-based dietetics practice by asking important research questions, systematically finding evidence, assessing the validity, applicability and importance of that evidence, and combining the information with RD expertise and judgment, as well as community values and circumstances to guide decision-making in dietetics.²

NODIP at NOSM includes practice-based projects with RD advisors across a variety of practice settings, as well as diverse client and patient groups. Since 2007, NODIP has coordinated 70 projects with the support over 65 unique advisors and their organizations. As one of NOSM’s academic programs with a social accountability mandate, improving the health of Indigenous communities, particularly among children and youth, has been a strong focus.

To date, nine related projects have been completed with eight conference abstracts accepted as well as three publications in peer reviewed journals. These projects include:

• Participation in a multi-phase study to develop and validate a nutrition screening tool for toddlers (Toddler NutriSTEP^®) with the University of Guelph. As part of a provincial sample, NODIP interns and RD advisors from the Thunder Bay District Health, Public Health Sudbury & Districts, Noojmowin Teg Health Centre and NODIP, along with Indigenous partners from Aboriginal Early Years programs and Indian Friendship Centres, recruited parents of toddlers and conducted key informant interviews.³
• Secondary data analysis of the Toddler NutriSTEP^® validation study; one analysis relating to nutrition concerns in a sample of toddlers in Greater Sudbury, and a second exploring the knowledge gaps of Sudbury parents regarding their preschooler or toddler.
• An environmental scan of school nutrition programs in First Nations schools on Manitoulin Island, and the development and cognitive testing of a school food survey to inform current strengths and further opportunities to improve the school nutrition environment.
• A grey literature search and collection of food-related themes and experiences at the Spanish Residential School with the guidance of an archivist from the Algoma University Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre.
• A program evaluation of a food literacy component of a youth empowerment program for Indigenous girls
• A partnership with the University of Waterloo and Western University in which a NODIP intern and RD advisor conducted a literature review of effective healthy weight interventions in Aboriginal children and youth as part of a larger federally funded project.⁴
• The development of a knowledge pathway on caregiver feeding practices, nutrition knowledge and early dental carries risk in young Aboriginal children, 0 to 6 years.⁵

A national survey of Canadian Registered Dietitians on Aboriginal cultural competency in dietetics.⁶ This work in particular has generated national attention in the dietetic field with requests for consultations with other academic and internship programs in Canada.

Knowing the first recorded clinical trial, first clinical trial of the modern era, and the first Cochrane-related trial were all nutrition trials,⁷ we look forward to continuing the legacy of nutrition research and scholarship through our work in  NODIP@NOSM.

 

References

1. College of Dietitians of Ontario, 2013.
2. International Confederation of Dietetic Associations, 2013.
3. Randall Simpson JA, Whyte K, Lac J, Morra A, Rysdale L, Beyers J, McGibbon K, Turfryer M, Keller H. Validation and reliability of Toddler NutriSTEP.  Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2015; 40:877-886.
4. Towns C, Cooke M, Rysdale L & Wilk P. Healthy weights interventions in Aboriginal children and youth: A review of the literature. Can J Diet Pract Res 2014; 75 (3): 125-31.
5. Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition (PEN®).
6. Huycke P, Ingribelli J, Rysdale L. Aboriginal Cultural Competency in Dietetics: A National Survey of Canadian Registered Dietitians. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, online 23 March 2017.

Thurst, J. PENeNews 7(1), June 2017.

 

 

Save the Date: September 20, 2018 in Kenora

Even before the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Charter MD class walked through the doors in 2005, the School engaged First Nations and Métis peoples from communities across Northern Ontario as part of its mandate to be accountable to the cultural diversity of the region.

Indigenous organizations were at the forefront of the widespread community movement advocating for the establishment of NOSM. Indigenous Partnership Gatherings were established as a way to ensure that Indigenous peoples of Northern Ontario have regular opportunities to provide formative input into the School’s administration, education and research.

The Gatherings regularly bring together stakeholders from treaty organizations, Elders, physicians, nurses and other health-care professionals with experience in Indigenous health settings to learn from their invaluable experience, and hear their feedback and ideas to move the School forward.

This timeline traces the history of the School’s Indigenous Partnership Gatherings, from the first Gathering in 2003 to the present. 

2003

In June of 2003, NOSM hosted its first Indigenous Partnership Gathering in the Anishnaabeg community of Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation, near Kenora. The three-day gathering brought together over 130 delegates from Indigenous communities across the North. The report from this first Gathering served as a blueprint for the establishment of the Indigenous Affairs Unit and the Indigenous Reference Group, as well as the development of partnerships with Indigenous communities so that all NOSM medical students have a mandatory four-week cultural immersion experience in their first year.

2006

NOSM and our Indigenous partners came together for the second time at Fort William First Nation in August 2006, after the School’s Charter Class had just completed their four-week immersive Indigenous community placement. Nearly all of the Indigenous Local Community Coordinators were on hand to share their experiences of having medical students in their communities.

2008

In 2008, NOSM hosted its first Indigenous Research Gathering in Thunder Bay. This Gathering provided an opportunity for Indigenous peoples and health researchers—including researchers who themselves are Indigenous—to come together to acknowledge past experiences, conduct ceremonies for healing, generate future opportunities for positive and respectful relationships between Indigenous communities and researchers, and plan a new and positive path forward.

2011

NOSM and the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) co-hosted the School’s third Indigenous Partnership Gathering in May 2011 in Sudbury. The MNO and NOSM have a range of common goals, and following the opening of the workshop, the two organizations officially announced and signed a historic collaboration agreement.

2014

In August 2014, Chapleau Cree First Nation hosted NOSM’s fourth Indigenous Partnership Gathering. NOSM senior leaders, faculty and staff gathered to report on the tangible progress NOSM had made in implementing recommendations from previous partnership gatherings, and sought recommendations about how the School could refine its practices, activities and outcomes to ensure that NOSM continues to meet the needs of Indigenous peoples across Northern Ontario.

2015

NOSM’s Indigenous Affairs Unit held a historic Elder’s Gathering on the traditional lands of Fort William First Nation in 2015, bringing together Elders from First Nations and Métis communities across Northern Ontario. The Elders discussed the purpose, function and responsibility of NOSM Elders and those on the Council of Elders. Through sharing and discussion, it was decided that the newly formed Ogichidaang Gagiigatiziwin—NOSM’s Circle of Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers—will be guided in their work by the Seven Grandfather teachings: Nibwaakaawin (wisdom); Zaagi’idiwin (love); Minaadendamowin (respect); Aakode’ewin (bravery); Gwayakwaadiziwin (honesty); Dabaadendiziwin (humility); and, Debwewin (truth).

2016

NOSM welcomed delegates from Indigenous communities of Northern Ontario to the second Indigenous Research Gathering in 2016 in Sault Ste. Marie on the traditional lands of the Anishinabek Peoples of Baawaating. The two-day Gathering was organized to review past and present research practices, what researchers have learned about the important aspects of conducting Indigenous community research, and also reflect on the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as they relate to research.

 2018

The fifth Indigenous Partnership Gathering will be hosted near Kenora on September 20, 2018.

 

 

 

 

Meet our incoming MD class

Each spring, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine sends out its offers of admission for the MD program. Members of our new class have been introducing themselves on social media, using the hashtag #yestonosm or #ouiàlemno.

In many Northern Ontario communities, recruiting and retaining physicians and other health-care professionals has been a challenge for decades. NOSM is a made-in-the-north solution to regional health inequalities, including physician shortages.

The first medical school in Canada with a social accountability mandate, NOSM has become a world-recognized leader in the field of health professional education. Our unique model of distributed, community-engaged medical education and research is producing highly sought-after physicians, residents, physician assistants, dietitians and other health-care professionals, many of whom are currently serving the North.

The majority of our future MDs come from the North; all of them will be training in communities across the North; and research shows the majority will stay and practice in the North when they graduate.

You can meet some of Northern Ontario’s future doctors by visiting our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages now and throughout the summer.