Section 1: Self-reflect and Learn More About an Indigenous Socio-cultural and Structural Context Related to Indigenous Women’s Cardiovascular & Stroke Illness (CVD/s)

As noted in Module 1, First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples have a significantly higher likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and stroke (CVD/s).  For example:

• heart failure rates are higher among Indigenous people in Canada compared to non-Indigenous people.

• The death rates from stroke are twice as high than for those in the general Canadian population and the age-standardized CVD mortality is 30% higher for First Nations men and 76% higher for First Nations women.

Health care practitioners may be in need of additional information related to the socio-cultural context of Indigenous women’s cardiovascular to increase their knowledge and ability to provide culturally relevant care. Some key HCP respondents in the MBH study indicated that while they have a baseline knowledge, they are seeking more specific information about CVD/s factors regarding Indigenous women. Consider the following as examples. Click on the “+” icons for more information.

¹Vallesi, S., Wood, L., Dimer, L., & Zada, M. (2018)

An important factor in the goal to increase awareness regarding Indigenous women’s heart health and influence the development of culturally relevant services and programs is the need to inform and enhance health policy. For example, civil society organizations such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation have identified the need for more research about Indigenous people and more specifically about the gender and culturally specific needs of Indigenous women.

Another important factor is that more effort is required by the CVD/s scientific community to engage in knowledge management strategies that truly have a positive impact on societal impact. More specifically for Indigenous peoples/women who have been identified by the cardiology research and services community as one of the most marginalized population groups with respect to CVD/s health status.

Indigenous women’s perspective on cardiovascular health and well-being continue to be underrepresented in the literature. This significant gap needs to be addressed with the use of culturally relevant research to effectively influence policy in addition to informing culturally safe healthcare practices and improving health outcomes (Gomes et al., 2023).