Synthesis and summary

Alcohol and drug use

The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, conducted throughout the 14 communities of Nunavik in autumn 2004, provides an update of the alcohol and drug use descriptive profile of the population aged 15 and over and identifies the sociodemographic characteristics associated with substance use.

In Nunavik in 2004, the proportion of drinkers was 77%, which is lower than the rate observed in Canada and in Quebec. This rate, however, represents an…

In Nunavik, common practices such as the consumption of untreated water and raw game may promote exposure to pathogenic agents responsible for zoonoses, infections that may be transmitted from animals to humans, as well as for food-borne and water-borne infections. As part of the 2004 Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, information was gathered to depict the supply of drinking water and to determine the prevalence of certain infections among the Inuit population, including gastroenteritis.

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Almost one-third (31%) of the adult population in Montréal and Montérégie reported going to emergency departments at least once in the two years preceding the survey. Utilisation of emergency departments varies by health and social services centre (CSSS, Centre de santé et de services sociaux) territory, and tends to be higher in rural areas. This could be related to the specific pattern of organisation of primary care practices in rural areas. Having a regular source of primary care and…

The main objective of this report is to enable decision-makers in Montréal clinical and health administration settings be better informed of health service utilisation by people with heart failure who are living in their territories. The report on heart failure is part of the « Monitorage interprétatif » project conducted by the Équipe Santé des populations et services de santé (ESPSS), a joint team of the Direction de santé publique de Montréal and Institut national de santé publique du…

Based on the indicators described, the report suggests that:

The main goal of this report is to allow health administration and clinical decision-makers in Montréal be more aware of health services utilisation by diabetics in their territories. The report on diabetes is part of the “Monitorage interprétatif” project conducted by the Équipe Santé des populations et services de santé (ESPSS), a joint team of the Montréal Public Health Department and the Institut national de santé publique du Québec. It is the first in a series of reports that will be…

A residential building’s indoor air can theoretically contain various types of contaminants to which the occupants could be exposed. Many studies have established links between the presence of indoor air contaminants and some health problems. A reduction in indoor air contamination must ideally be the subject of a strategy encompassing a certain number of measures, with control at source definitely being the first option to be considered. However, this approach alone is not sufficient to…

This document should not be thought of as the end point in the process of managing radon-related risks. Instead, it is more a first milestone. We believe that it will allow public authorities to continue this process on more precise foundations. The document presents the state of knowledge and critically reviews the different intervention options. It does not present a detailed program, but instead a process for the gradual implementation of different interventions.

The Cree community of Oujé-Bougoumou is located approximately 60 kilometres west of Chibougamau and comprises 622 residents. There was, for this community, a potential exposure to toxic substances derived from tailings residues left behind from mining operations in the mid 1950s.

Confronted with this potential exposure, the Grand Council of the Crees commissioned an environmental contamination study, which was conducted by Christopher L. Covel from CL COVEL PG LLC and Roger D.…

In 1997, in light of international developments with respect to asbestos, particularly after its banning in France, Quebec's ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (department of health and social services) set up a Comité aviseur sur l'amiante (asbestos advisory committee). The aim of this committee was to make recommendations about appropriate measures to inform the public and to protect public health in relation to the asbestos situation in Quebec. The advisory committee then…