NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, North Slave Region

Tags: health, children's health

Objective(s): The objective of the study is to collect information on all respiratory hospital admissions for infants less than one year of age living in isolated northern communities.

Project Description: This licence is issued for the scientific research application #937. The objective of the study is to collect information on all respiratory hospital admissions for infants less than one year of age living in isolated northern communities. The investigators are hoping to use this information to understand the pattern of illness with a view to prevention. The information for the study is routinely collected when infants are admitted to hospital in Yellowknife and Inuvik. Additional information will not be collected but details of the hospitalization will be recorded in a confidential database. Infants admitted to hospital routinely have a nasal specimen taken by swab or suction to help identify the cause of the infection. A portion of this will be saved to look at a larger number of bacteria and viruses in a laboratory associated with the research project. Confidentiality will be maintained throughout the research. The results of the study will be submitted for publication in a medical journal such as the CMAJ. The results of a previous studies have been communicated to communities in the north translated into Inuktitut across the north by the researcher. If the study identifies measures to prevent or reduce infections this will be communicated to the health care system. Results from this study may increase knowledge about infant lung infections in northern communities, and may help to plan for future studies which we hope will reduce lung infection rates. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from December 01 to December 31, 2008 in Yellowknife (Stanton Territorial Hospital) and Inuvik (Inuvik Hospital).