All in-person data collection for FEHNCY is currently on hold to comply with the physical and social distancing recommendations issued by the provincial and federal governments. The FEHNCY team will be conducting remote only data collection and will continue modifying the project methods, timeline, and protocols in collaboration with First Nation partners to adapt to the current circumstances. The mobile clinic component has been postponed until further notice.

Why is this study important?

Results from the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES), a comprehensive, 10-year research study of First Nations across Canada, showed extremely high rates of food insecurity, obesity, diabetes, and poor nutrition in adults.

 

Until now, there have been no studies focused on assessing food environments and food security, nutrition, housing conditions, and indoor air quality, environmental contaminants exposure, and health indicators for First Nation children and youth.

One third of the First Nations population consists of children of 14 years of age or younger and there remain persistent health inequalities between these children and those in the rest of the country.

 

FEHNCY aims to address these disparities and advocate for Indigenous health policies for children and youth. This study works in partnership with First Nations to build intergenerational capacities, to address environmental and nutrition health issues, and to support health and wellbeing in communities.

How will my family benefit from participating?

HEALTH ASSESSMENT INDIVIDUAL REPORT

This will provide a summary of the participating child’s clinical results with clear indications of normal or abnormal values, and if follow-up by a health professional is required.

NUTRITION AND WELL BEING REPORT

This will provide a summary of the participating child’s dietary intake with comparison to nutrition recommendations.

HOUSING AND AIR QUALITY REPORT

This will provide results of the household assessment and a comparison to recommended levels for air quality measurements. The report will also include suggestions on how to reduce contaminants levels or improve indoor air quality in the house.

Community Participation

The community will benefit from participating in the study by receiving data that can help support advocating for community programming. This includes:

  • Collection of baseline health data for children and youth
  • Estimate of traditional food intake
  • Measurement of exposure to mercury, metals and pesticides
  • Capacity building and employment opportunities
  • Promotion of health and wellbeing

At the household and individual level, even if your household did not participate, community results should help better understand the situation in your community overall. Each First Nation will receive a report with community-specific results, and a copy of their community’s data. The FEHNCY team will return to share results, and a workshop on how to use your data will be held in your community.

FIRST NATIONS THAT DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY

FEHNCY promotes the improvement of health and wellbeing for all First Nations families, not only those who have been randomly selected to participate. These results will be used to advocate for additional policy and programming to address the needs identified in the survey, so your household and community can benefit even if you are not selected to participate. Findings can be used in the future to see if things have changed over time, or to determine how First Nations on reserve compare to those in other regions and to the broader Canadian population.

If your community is interested in participating in FEHNCY, there could be an opportunity in the coming years; please contact fehncy@uottawa.ca.