Mental Health Interventions for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Canada: A Systematic Review

Authors

  • Simon Graham Office of the Chief Medical Officer, First Nations Health Authority, Canada, and Department of Infectious Diseases, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Krista Stelkia Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Cornelia Wieman Office of the Chief Medical Officer, First Nations Health Authority, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Evan Adams Chief Medical Officer First Nations Health Authority, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2021.12.2.10820

Keywords:

Indigenous, Aboriginal, Anxiety, Depression, Suicide, Elders, Culture as treatment, First Nations, Métis, Inuit

Abstract

Higher rates of anxiety, depression, and attempted suicide are reported among First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people compared with non-Indigenous people in Canada. This systematic review summarises the key components of mental health interventions among Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science between January 1,1970, and August 30, 2019. Studies needed to be an intervention addressing suicide, depression, or anxiety. There were 14 studies: 8 quantitative, 2 qualitative, and 4 mixed methods. By geographical location, 5 were urban, 5 non-urban, and 4 included multiple areas. Beneficial interventions included ceremony, being on the land, engaging in traditional food gathering, culturally grounded indoor and outdoor activities, and the sharing of Indigenous knowledge by Elders.

Author Biographies

Simon Graham , Office of the Chief Medical Officer, First Nations Health Authority, Canada, and Department of Infectious Diseases, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Australia

Simon is a Narrunga man from South Australia. He is an Endeavour Research Leadership Fellow at the First Nations Health Authority in Vancouver and a National Health and Medical Research fellow at the Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne. He has led a community-based trial that successfully increased sexually transmitted infection (STI) and viral hepatitis testing and improved managed of these infections among young Aboriginal people in small regional towns in New South Wales. Simon spent two years at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and he has been a Fulbright fellow based at the PRIDE Health Research Consortium in New York City. He is a graduate of the Master of Applied Epidemiology, a field epidemiology degree where he evaluated Australia’s National perinatal surveillance system and investigated an outbreak in Western Sydney. Simon previously worked in international developed based in Bangkok and Hanoi. He has an interest in field epidemiology that has clear community benefits.

Krista Stelkia , Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Krista Stelkia, Syilx/Tlingit from Osoyoos Indian Band, is a University Research Associate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Krista completed her Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) and Master of Arts in Criminology at SFU. Her doctoral research, funded by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Research Award, examines the complex and intersecting ways in which structural racism can influence chronic disease and comorbidity among First Nations in Canada. Krista brings over 12 years of professional experience working with First Nations communities and organizations, most recently in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at the First Nations Health Authority.

Cornelia Wieman, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, First Nations Health Authority, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Nel is Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist (Anishnawbe – Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Manitoba). In January 2018, Nel joined the First Nations Health Authority in BC as a Senior Medical Officer, Mental Health & Wellness, in the FNHA’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer. From 2013-2018, she was a staff psychiatrist at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, in CAMH’s Aboriginal Services Unit, Tele-psychiatry Service (Northern Psychiatric Outreach Program), Crisis Clinic and General Assessment Clinic. Since 2016, Nel has also served as the Faculty Advisor to the Indigenous Students’ Health Sciences Office at McMaster University. Prior to this, Nel was a member of the Clinical Support Team at YWCA Toronto’s Elm Centre providing psychiatric services to over 100 women living with serious mental illness and addictions, and was a special consultant to the Chief Public Health Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada. From 2004-2011, she was the Co-Director of the Indigenous Health Research Development Program and an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Nel began her career by providing psychiatric services at the community mental health clinic on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory (1997-2005) after completing her medical degree (1993) and while completing her psychiatry specialty training (1998) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In February 2013, Nel was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Evan Adams, Chief Medical Officer First Nations Health Authority, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Dr. Evan Adams is of Sliammon First Nation ancestry. He is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Public Health, Director General’s Office of Population and Public Health, First Nation and Inuit Health Branch, Indigenous Services Canada, Government of Canada. Previously he was the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the First Nations Health Authority. In his role as CMO, Dr. Adams provides invaluable leadership representing the FNHA. He works closely with government partners on population and public health matters that affect First Nations and all British Columbians.
Prior to working with the FNHA, Dr. Adams was appointed as Deputy Provincial Health Officer and worked alongside Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Perry Kendall and Deputy PHO Dr. Eric Young. In this role, he provided independent direction on First Nations and Aboriginal health issues to the Ministry of Health. He also reported to citizens on health issues affecting the general population and set out a path for the improvement of First Nations and Aboriginal health and wellness.
Dr. Adams leads a team of FNHA physicians—health and wellness partners to BC First Nations—who focus on First Nations health and wellness with the aim of creating a unique health care model that will be the first of its kind in Canada. He contributes to the continued transformation of health care and responds to the wellness directives provided by First Nations communities.
Dr. Adams completed his Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the University of Calgary, his Aboriginal Family Practice residency at St Paul’s Hospital/UBC (as Chief Resident), a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and served as the Director of UBC’s Division of Aboriginal Peoples Health.
Dr. Adams likes to keep his family close, including his five sons and step-daughter, and honours his family. He is a marathon runner and is beginning to add swimming to his wellness plans. Dr. Adams is notable for his acting role in the movie “Smoke Signals”; he truly enjoys the arts.

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2021-05-20