Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada
Children from circumpolar regions must travel long distances to southern tertiary care centres for specialised care. While there are initiatives underway to support care closer to home, medical travel remains a necessity for many families. The Aakuluk clinic has been operating since 2019 at a tertia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2442155 |
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| author | Maria Cherba Nancy Mike Gwen Healey Akearok Melissa Weber Vesa Basha Brianne Cantwell Christine Paquette Cannalonga Yipeng Ge Radha Jetty |
| author_facet | Maria Cherba Nancy Mike Gwen Healey Akearok Melissa Weber Vesa Basha Brianne Cantwell Christine Paquette Cannalonga Yipeng Ge Radha Jetty |
| author_sort | Maria Cherba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Children from circumpolar regions must travel long distances to southern tertiary care centres for specialised care. While there are initiatives underway to support care closer to home, medical travel remains a necessity for many families. The Aakuluk clinic has been operating since 2019 at a tertiary hospital in Ottawa, Canada, to provide care to children from Nunavut. The clinic team includes nurse case managers, physicians, social workers, interpreters, and several community partners. This project aimed to identify the strengths and the challenges of the clinic from the perspectives of parents and healthcare providers. The study was conducted in collaboration with healthcare professionals and community members and was guided by Inuit research approaches. Fifty-one participants (parents and healthcare providers) in Nunavut and Ottawa were interviewed. The main strengths and challenges of the clinic that were reported are related to the following themes: access to holistic care, supporting the role of Inuit professionals as part of the care team, and resources needed to continue offering programmes such as Aakuluk to Inuit families. From the perspectives of parents and healthcare providers, there are several components of the Aakuluk model that can be considered when developing services for Inuit families in other tertiary care centres. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3f5e9d096a9c4f84b1475560b2019734 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2242-3982 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-3f5e9d096a9c4f84b1475560b20197342025-01-15T08:34:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Circumpolar Health2242-39822025-12-0184110.1080/22423982.2024.2442155Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, CanadaMaria Cherba0Nancy Mike1Gwen Healey Akearok2Melissa Weber3Vesa Basha4Brianne Cantwell5Christine Paquette Cannalonga6Yipeng Ge7Radha Jetty8Department of Communication, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaQaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, Iqaluit, Nunavut, CanadaQaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, Iqaluit, Nunavut, CanadaDepartment of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Communication, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaIndependent ResearcherDepartment of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaChildren from circumpolar regions must travel long distances to southern tertiary care centres for specialised care. While there are initiatives underway to support care closer to home, medical travel remains a necessity for many families. The Aakuluk clinic has been operating since 2019 at a tertiary hospital in Ottawa, Canada, to provide care to children from Nunavut. The clinic team includes nurse case managers, physicians, social workers, interpreters, and several community partners. This project aimed to identify the strengths and the challenges of the clinic from the perspectives of parents and healthcare providers. The study was conducted in collaboration with healthcare professionals and community members and was guided by Inuit research approaches. Fifty-one participants (parents and healthcare providers) in Nunavut and Ottawa were interviewed. The main strengths and challenges of the clinic that were reported are related to the following themes: access to holistic care, supporting the role of Inuit professionals as part of the care team, and resources needed to continue offering programmes such as Aakuluk to Inuit families. From the perspectives of parents and healthcare providers, there are several components of the Aakuluk model that can be considered when developing services for Inuit families in other tertiary care centres.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2442155Inuitpediatricsintegrated caremedical travelpatient experienceinterprofessional collaboration |
| spellingShingle | Maria Cherba Nancy Mike Gwen Healey Akearok Melissa Weber Vesa Basha Brianne Cantwell Christine Paquette Cannalonga Yipeng Ge Radha Jetty Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada International Journal of Circumpolar Health Inuit pediatrics integrated care medical travel patient experience interprofessional collaboration |
| title | Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada |
| title_full | Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada |
| title_fullStr | Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada |
| title_short | Exploring integrated tertiary care for children from Nunavut: experiences of families and healthcare providers at the Aakuluk clinic in Ottawa, Canada |
| title_sort | exploring integrated tertiary care for children from nunavut experiences of families and healthcare providers at the aakuluk clinic in ottawa canada |
| topic | Inuit pediatrics integrated care medical travel patient experience interprofessional collaboration |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2442155 |
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