REPORT SUMMARY
TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE IN THE MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS IN INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS This report summary discusses trauma-informed care for Indigenous 1 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis. It provides a summary of an extensive review of literature on this topic, with the same title, conducted in 2023 by the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health. That review found that trauma-informed models of care are important tools for tackling the high rates of tuberculosis that persist in many Indigenous populations.
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Background Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious illness that mainly affects the lungs. The germs that cause tuberculosis are a type of bacteria that usually attacks the lungs but can also attack other parts of the body. TB can spread when a person with the illness coughs, sneezes, talks, or sings. This can put tiny droplets with the germs into the air. Another person can then breathe in the droplets and the germs enter their lungs. Not everyone who has TB is contagious or even feels ill. However, latent (hidden) TB can become active if it isn’t treated.
TB can spread easily where people gather in crowds or live in crowded conditions. People with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of catching TB than people with typical immune systems. Poverty, homelessness, malnutrition, and overcrowded housing conditions contribute to the risk of developing TB. Antibiotic drugs can treat both active and latent forms of TB. Indigenous people experience higher rates of TB compared with the general population. In 2020, Inuit people had the highest rate of active TB in Canada. That rate was approximately 15 times the national rate. First Nations people had a TB rate that was almost three times the national rate, while the rate for Métis people was lower than the rate for the general population in Canada.
The term Indigenous Peoples is used throughout this report to refer collectively to the original inhabitants of the lands that comprise Canada, including First Nations people, Inuit, and Métis people. Where possible and appropriate, the distinction between First Nations people, Inuit, and Métis people is noted.
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