Aboriginal seniors—health care concerns
A new report by the Health Council of Canada says that governments must make a greater effort to collaborate to improve health care for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis seniors. The report shows that this segment of the population often does not receive the same level of health care as non-Aboriginal Canadians because of poor communication, collaboration, and disputes between governments about who is responsible for the care of Aboriginal people.
The report says that little attention has been paid to the complex health care needs of Aboriginal seniors in research or public policy. In comparison to the larger Canadian population, a significantly higher proportion of Aboriginal seniors live on low incomes and are in poor health, and their health needs are magnified by poverty, poor housing, racism, language barriers, and cultural differences.
The report does include promising practices from across Canada where governments, health regions, and Aboriginal communities have formed partnerships to improve health care for Aboriginal seniors and other Aboriginal people, citing the transfer of health authority to the new First Nations Health Authority in BC as an example.
To view the full report visit http://healthcouncilcanada.ca/improvinghealthcare.