Gwen Healey is paving the road for Nunavummiut (Inuit of Nunavut) to better understand Inuit health and work together to address community health needs through research. She grew up in Iqaluit, Nunavut and continues to live in her northern territory even though she has the education and work experience that could take her anywhere else in the world. The aim of her past and present work is to promote healthy communities for future generations in Canada’s Arctic.

Like many other Iqalungmiut (people of Iqaluit), Gwen witnessed her northern town mushroom into one of the fastest growing cities in Canada when Nunavut became a Canadian territory in 1999. Iqaluit’s rapid population growth and housing construction continue to surprise her ever since the town became the capital of Nunavut. In addition, with the growing national and international attention on the Arctic, interest in northern health research has been increasing. While the information that’s gathered contributes to an overall picture of health in Canada’s Arctic Gwen, and others she works with, noticed a gap between the general research interests of southern health researchers coming north, and communities’ perceptions about their own health needs.

Gwen graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Queen's University in 2002, and returned to the Arctic but to northern Norway. She became an intern with the Winnipeg based International Institute for Sustainable Development, and moved to Arendal. For six months, she worked at the circumpolar University of the Arctic as an assistant to the University’s director. She contributed to communication and program development between circumpolar educational institutions, which secured long‐term partnerships for the university to better serve northern peoples. Immediately after her Norwegian placement, she continued her work with the University of the Arctic’s International Secretariat in Rovaniemi, Finland until the autumn of 2003. During her internship and following work, Gwen realized the power of being “truly circumpolar”  and the importance of understanding that life for northerners in Scandinavia was not all that different from her Canadian roots in Nunavut.

She traveled back to Canada with a new perspective about the north and began her Masters degree in Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. She focused her research on determinants of health for Inuit women in Nunavut. This project enabled her to apply her education and life experience to address an important health issue that had been identified by the community. She had the unique opportunity to interview Inuit women to gain a better understanding of the complex way in which education, health knowledge, traditional knowledge, culture and wellness interact and contribute to women’s health in Nunavut. Her research shared women’s perspectives on northern people’s health issues that can affect their family and cultural lifestyles.  This practical knowledge became the backbone for Gwen’s future work in supporting community‐driven health initiatives in Nunavut.

Upon completion of her Masters, Gwen collaborated with coworkers in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, starting a nongovernmental organization called Arctic Health Research Network (AHRN). In Nunavut, the organization is also known by its Inuktitut name, Qaujigiartiit (looking for things). AHRN is the first Canadian tri‐territorial health research network linking three northern regions Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Gwen became the Executive Director of the Nunavut branch of the new organization and began to create a network to facilitate the sharing of community opinions, concerns and solutions about health and health research needs.

Her life in the north has given her inspiration to promote the importance of Inuit perspectives on and participation in health research and the documenting of traditional knowledge, which remain fundamental for addressing Arctic health concerns. In the past, Nunavut communities have expressed concern about situations where southern researchers assess Inuit health problems, collect data concerning community health, and return to the south with little collaboration with Inuit.

This past summer, Gwen also had the opportunity to work on the CCGS Amundsen with the 2007 Inuit Health Survey for Nunavut called “Qanuippitali?” or translated “How about us? How are we?” This ship traveled to 19 remote communities in Nunavut to conduct a survey on Inuit health. The data generated by the survey will provide a picture of cardiovascular health for Inuit in these communities, including risk of heart disease and diabetes. The information will be used by territorial organizations and governments to better address Inuit‐specific health care needs.

Gwen had the privilege of interviewing people from these small communities and discussing the health challenges that they struggle with on a daily basis. This experience helped Gwen realize the importance of Qaujigiartiit /AHRN and of supporting communities in the development of their own health research projects that can add to and complement the body of knowledge generated by large surveys such as ‘Qanuippitali?’

The strength and humility Gwen found in the people she had the privilege of interviewing, reinforced her drive to work towards the betterment of health for northerners. The goal of AHRN is to work with communities to develop health research priorities and share with researchers coming north. To work with northern training programs that will allow northerners to participate in the development of health research projects that can be run in communities by community members.

Gwen has hopes that Qaujigiartiit/AHRN will help provide opportunities to help and support Nunavummiut youth to study and work in health, and ultimately create a healthy environment that works for Inuit. In the future, the organization will promote education and opportunities that may allow Nunavut students to have hands‐on experience with researchers in the field.

By Carolee Buckler.