REPORT SUMMARY
CONSIDERATIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND BEST PRACTICES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES The term public health surveillance 1 describes the collection and analysis of health data. It is used to plan, carry out, and evaluate public health practice. Canada’s public health surveillance system faces particular challenges for First Nations peoples, Inuit, and Métis peoples. They include:
Public health surveillance describes the collection and analysis of health data to plan, carry out, and evaluate public health practice. The key uses of public health surveillance are to:
∙ major gaps in indicators to measure the health of Indigenous 2 populations; ∙ collection of data that is neither appropriate nor useful for addressing health inequities; ∙ insufficient or unhelpful data to support decision-making at the local level; and ∙ surveillance processes that reinforce a colonial power relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
-identify patients and their contacts for treatment
In 2024, the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health published a review of the literature on public health surveillance in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities called Considerations, implications, and best practices for public health surveillance in Indigenous communities. This document provides a condensed, plain language summary of that report.
-assess effectiveness of programs and control measures
-detect epidemics, health problems, and changes in health behaviours -estimate the size and scope of health problems -measure trends and characterize disease -track changes in infectious and environmental agents
-stimulate research
The term ‘public health surveillance’ is increasingly being replaced with ‘public health assessment’ due to negative associations with the former term. 2 The term ‘Indigenous’ is used through this document to refer to First Nations peoples, Inuit, and Métis peoples collectively, regardless of registered status or location of residence. When referring to specific Indigenous groups, the terms ‘First Nations,’ ‘Inuit,’ and ‘Métis’ will be used. 1
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