Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital
We aimed to characterise the medical and social complexities experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who were cared for at a general paediatrics clinic at an urban tertiary-level hospital located in Eastern Ontario. A retrospective chart review of this cohort was completed betw...
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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/10.1080/22423982.2024.2444122 |
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| author | Yipeng Ge Amanda Mills Victoria McCann Sara Trincao-Batra Deepti Reddy Dennis Newhook Richard J. Webster Stephanie Sutherland Melissa Weber Radha Jetty |
| author_facet | Yipeng Ge Amanda Mills Victoria McCann Sara Trincao-Batra Deepti Reddy Dennis Newhook Richard J. Webster Stephanie Sutherland Melissa Weber Radha Jetty |
| author_sort | Yipeng Ge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We aimed to characterise the medical and social complexities experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who were cared for at a general paediatrics clinic at an urban tertiary-level hospital located in Eastern Ontario. A retrospective chart review of this cohort was completed between 2016 and 2019. Two independent reviewers extracted data from charts. The cohort included 36 children, median (interquartile range [IQR]) age 13.5 (6.8, 28.2) months and full age range (1,140) months. They had a median (IQR) of 12.5 (7.8, 18.0) comorbidities, 11 (8.0, 14.2) healthcare services accessed and 3 (2, 5) medications. Almost all children (97.2%) had been hospitalised and the median number of days spent as an inpatient was 31.5. With respect to social complexity variables, 51.9% of clinical interactions (14 of 27 charts reviewed) at any point would have benefitted from an interpreter and 96.7% of 30 patient escorts/companions showed evidence of having difficulty in coping with homesickness. Improving social history taking and integrating screening for social determinants of health within the clinic should be considered. A dedicated interdisciplinary team approach focused on integrative care could be an effective method to improve communication and collaboration between service providers and with Inuit children and their families to reduce systemic health and social inequities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b630555878ea41c68ab862b4f8fb4e41 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| 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-b630555878ea41c68ab862b4f8fb4e412025-08-20T02:40:23ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Circumpolar Health2242-39822025-12-0184110.1080/22423982.2024.2444122Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospitalYipeng Ge0Amanda Mills1Victoria McCann2Sara Trincao-Batra3Deepti Reddy4Dennis Newhook5Richard J. Webster6Stephanie Sutherland7Melissa Weber8Radha Jetty9Public Health and Preventive Medicine Resident Physician, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaUndergraduate Medical Education Program, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, CanadaUndergraduate Medical Education Program, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, CanadaUndergraduate Medical Education Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaBiostatistician, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, CanadaResearch Analyst and Qualitative Methods Consultant, Clinical Research Unit, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, CanadaScientific Director, Clinical Research Unit, CHEO Resaerch Institute, Ottawa, CanadaResearch and Evaluation Consultant, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, CanadaFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaPediatric Medicine Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaWe aimed to characterise the medical and social complexities experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who were cared for at a general paediatrics clinic at an urban tertiary-level hospital located in Eastern Ontario. A retrospective chart review of this cohort was completed between 2016 and 2019. Two independent reviewers extracted data from charts. The cohort included 36 children, median (interquartile range [IQR]) age 13.5 (6.8, 28.2) months and full age range (1,140) months. They had a median (IQR) of 12.5 (7.8, 18.0) comorbidities, 11 (8.0, 14.2) healthcare services accessed and 3 (2, 5) medications. Almost all children (97.2%) had been hospitalised and the median number of days spent as an inpatient was 31.5. With respect to social complexity variables, 51.9% of clinical interactions (14 of 27 charts reviewed) at any point would have benefitted from an interpreter and 96.7% of 30 patient escorts/companions showed evidence of having difficulty in coping with homesickness. Improving social history taking and integrating screening for social determinants of health within the clinic should be considered. A dedicated interdisciplinary team approach focused on integrative care could be an effective method to improve communication and collaboration between service providers and with Inuit children and their families to reduce systemic health and social inequities.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2444122Social paediatricscomplex careInuit healthsocial complexitymedical complexitycoordination of care |
| spellingShingle | Yipeng Ge Amanda Mills Victoria McCann Sara Trincao-Batra Deepti Reddy Dennis Newhook Richard J. Webster Stephanie Sutherland Melissa Weber Radha Jetty Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital International Journal of Circumpolar Health Social paediatrics complex care Inuit health social complexity medical complexity coordination of care |
| title | Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital |
| title_full | Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital |
| title_fullStr | Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital |
| title_short | Characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by Inuit children and their families from Nunavut who access care at an urban Canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital |
| title_sort | characterizing the medical and social complexity experienced by inuit children and their families from nunavut who access care at an urban canadian tertiary level paediatric hospital |
| topic | Social paediatrics complex care Inuit health social complexity medical complexity coordination of care |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2444122 |
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