Pages 346-350 in S. Chatwood, P. Orr and Tiina Ikaheimo, eds. Proceedings of the 14th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Yellowknife, Canada, July 11-16, 2009. Securing the IPY Legacy: from Research to Action. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2010; 69 (Suppl 7).
Pages 346-350 in S. Chatwood, P. Orr and Tiina Ikaheimo, eds. Proceedings of the 14th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Yellowknife, Canada, July 11-16, 2009. Securing the IPY Legacy: from Research to Action. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2010; 69 (Suppl 7).
Objectives: With a better understanding of northern Indigenous risk perceptions related to food safety, this research aims to identify the role that Indigenous knowledge can play in risk assessment and management processes in order to support and ensure more culturally relevant and effective benefit-risk management strategies.
Study design: This work is a part of a circumpolar review that is conducting case study evaluations in four regions on the topic of Indigenous environmental health benefit-risk assessment and communication in relation to contaminant exposure through the consumption of traditional/country foods.
Methods: This project examines a series of events and communities in Yukon Territory, Canada. Forty-one interviews with traditional food experts (TFE) and environment and health decision-makers (HEDM) were conducted and analysed for thematic content. The research also included an extensive document review.
Results: Overall, people are confident in their own ways of determining the safety of food items. This is predominately based on physical indicators. Of the HEDM interviewees, there were varied levels of experience for including traditional knowledge in risk management; 45% had direct experience, 36% had experience in other aspects of research and 18% had no direct experience. All interviewees discussed collaboration as a valuable process for effective risk management.
Conclusions: â??Effective risk management" is dictated by the effort given to include the affected communities or populations. Yukon First Nations have their own way for determining food safety, and these methods and perceptions need to be considered in the framing of risk issues and from the initial stages of the management process. True collaboration is crucial for effectiveness.