International Union for Circumpolar Health Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of RF Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Medical Polar Fund “Science” The Northern Forum

Abstracts

Ethnic peculiarities of the North native inhabitants health

Objective: To support and assist the expansion of Inuit midwifery and maternity care by enhancing information-sharing.

Design: The Inuit Midwifery Network is a web- and fax-based technology initiative under the umbrella of Aboriginal midwifery activities of the National Aboriginal Health Organization. The Network liaises with Inuit midwives, Inuit maternity care workers and other partners to develop and implement information-sharing services. It endeavours to enhance Inuit participation in knowledge-based activities relating to the practice of Aboriginal midwifery in Canada. The Network serves as a centralized access point for Inuit midwifery and maternity care information (resources, news, research, articles, training, events, stories, etc.) and offers no-cost web-publication of articles, presentations, stories and other resources.

Methods: Staff of the Network gather and disseminate a wide variety of relevant midwifery resources to the network, provide in-kind technical support to activities relating to Inuit midwifery and maintain a ‘low tech’ e-mail listserve and fax service for members. Membership is free and open to anyone with an interest in advancing Inuit midwifery.

Results: Inuit midwives, Inuit maternity care workers and others have information resources in Inuktitut, English and French to utilize in advancing the revival of Inuit midwifery and culturally-appropriate maternity care. A greater awareness of policy-makers and others of the importance of in-community birthing and culturally-appropriate care is achieved as the Network grows and gains momentum. A range of assistance is made available to practitioners and developers in the field through quick access to members of the Network.

Conclusions: The Network’s web information services can serve as a repository for Inuit traditional knowledge, information on Inuit models combining traditional knowledge and practices with modern maternity care methods. With the expansion of connectivity in Inuit communities, Inuit midwifery knowledge can be shared rapidly and freely through the Network’s tools breaking down barriers to isolation and engaging community-based service providers with research and new information, an important contribution to the restoration of birthing in Inuit communities and to improving birth outcomes.

Note. Abstracts are published in author's edition

© 1996-2005, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk
Last update: 06-Jul-2012 (11:52:05)