Environment and health risk communication pathways in Aboriginal communities: Learning from the case of foodweb contaminants and nutrition issues with young Inuit women in Nunatsiavut

Inuit are exposed to both risks (e.g. environmental contaminants) and benefits (nutritional, social, cultural) through their consumption of wild foods. This project explored the research question: What are the key factors that influence the communication of environmental health risk messages with identified at-risk populations in Aboriginal communities?The focus groups confirmed that young women use a variety of formal and informal pathways to receive information about health issues and that little of the material they receive seems relevant to their personal context. The research also found that this target group was generally not concerned about health effects from contaminants but that other nutrition issues (e.g. food security) were more important to them. The research results have implications for effective communication with at-risk target groups in Aboriginal community context.This question was investigated through a case study project conducted on the issue of foodweb contaminants in wild food resources, and aspects of the communication process with women of childbearing age in one Inuit community in the Canadian North. The project used key informant interviews, focus groups and document review in the community of Nain, Nunatsiavut (Labrador).