Elsevier

Public Health

Volume 137, August 2016, Pages 44-49
Public Health

Original Research
The role of environmental factors in search and rescue incidents in Nunavut, Canada

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2016.06.003Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The use of gasoline sales is proposed as a control for hazard exposure and land-use.

  • Environmental conditions of days with a search and rescue (SAR) event are compared to conditions of control days.

  • Ice conditions and daily temperatures are shown to influence risk of SAR and injury.

Abstract

Objectives

Unintentional injury is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nunavut, where the importance of land-based activities and reliance on semi-permanent trails create unique risk profiles. Climate change is believed to be exacerbating these risks, although no studies have quantitatively examined links between environmental conditions and injury and distress in the Canadian Arctic. We examine the correlation between environmental conditions and land-based search and rescue (SAR) incidents across Nunavut.

Study design

Case study.

Methods

Case data were acquired from the Canadian National Search and Rescue Secretariat. Gasoline sales from across the territory are then used to model land-use and exposure. We compare weather and ice conditions during 202 SAR incidents to conditions during 755 non-SAR days (controls) between 2013 and 2014.

Results

We show daily ambient temperature, ice concentration, ice thickness, and variation in types of ice to be correlated with SAR rates across the territory during the study period.

Conclusions

These conditions are projected to be affected by future climate change, which could increase demand for SAR and increase injury rates in the absence of targeted efforts aimed at prevention and treatment. This study provides health practitioners and public health communities with clearer understanding to prepare, respond to, and prevent injuries across the Arctic.

Introduction

Injury is the leading cause of death for Canadians aged 1 – 44 years, costing an estimated $26.8 billion annually.1 The burden of injury and trauma disproportionately affects socially marginalized populations,2, 3, 4 and Indigenous populations in the Arctic have been identified as being particularly susceptible given social and environmental contexts.5, 6, 7 Mortality rates of unintentional injury in the Inuit territory of Nunavut, for example are more than twice the national average, and potential years of life lost (2763 per 100,000) more than three-times the national average.8, 9

Climate change may further amplify injury rates in the Canadian Arctic, given the strong relationship between Inuit and the land for culturally-valued harvesting activities and transport between communities on semi-permanent ice and land-based trails.5, 10, 11 Over the past century in the Arctic, average surface air temperatures have increased by 5 °C, and perennial sea ice has declined by 9%–14%;12 temperatures are projected to increase by an additional 2 °C–9 °C this century, with wide ranging impacts.13 Research suggests that more dynamic ice conditions and increasing unpredictability of the weather are increasing the risk of injury and raising demand for search and rescue (SAR) across the north.14, 15 However, no studies in the Canadian Arctic, or more broadly, have quantitatively examined links between environmental conditions and injury or SAR. This paper examines the correlation between environmental conditions and SAR incidents across Nunavut, comparing weather and ice conditions during 202 SAR incidents to conditions during 755 non-SAR days (control) between 2013 and 2014.

Previous Arctic land-injury research has relied on descriptive analysis to understand patterns of injury, due to a lack of case and exposure data.5, 9, 14, 15 However, by not accounting for exposure or quantity of travel on land, sea, or ice – termed land-use – previous studies do not capture links between environmental risk and injury. Without controlling for exposure, studies could simply be capturing fluctuations in land-use intensity, not risk. In this study, we develop a new methodology for modelling land-use (exposure) in the Canadian Arctic using gasoline sales, and test for an association between weather/ice conditions and SAR demands across Nunavut, controlling for exposure to hazards. Furthering knowledge of injury pathways in general, and related to environmental factors in particular, the work is important for informing public health and medical practitioners in remote northern communities on prevention and response. Increased knowledge of when and under what conditions injuries occur can help health care practitioners focus preventions and prepare treatment resources.

Section snippets

Methods

The Canadian Territory of Nunavut (population 31,905) is located in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, stretching from the Hudson Bay to Greenland, including 25 communities ranging in size from 130 to 6600 people.16 Caribou, seal, polar bear, walrus, narwhal, and whales inhabit the region, migrating seasonally and providing sustenance for Inuit in the region.17 Inuit make up 83% of the territory's population. Over the past half-century, Inuit livelihoods have been dramatically altered, including

Results

Proxied land-use based on gasoline sales increased on the weekends, with a smaller increase in the middle of the week. Proxied land-use varied throughout the year across the Territory (Fig. 1); however, patterns shifted per community and latitude.

The frequency of search and rescue incidents follows similar trends to land-use, with peaks on Sunday and Wednesday, and in the spring and fall. However, weeks with the highest frequency of SAR events in the spring are about 4 weeks after the proxied

Discussion

Land-use injury research in the Arctic has been limited by a lack of land-use data or inability to assess risk exposure, relying instead on descriptive statistics of injury events. Addressing this gap, we proxied exposure of individuals to potential hazards using gasoline sales. This approach allowed for analysis of associations between SAR events and environmental conditions. Thus, results denote when and under what conditions land-users are at the greatest risk of injury in the Arctic,

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Applied Public Health Chairs program of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Search and Rescue Secretariat, Nunavut Protection Services, and ArcticNet, for their support.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Board of McGill University and from the Nunavut Research Institute.

Funding

This research was funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research (grant number TT6-128271) and Rotary International Global Scholarship.

Competing interests

None

References (30)

  • M.T. Do et al.

    Injuries in the North–analysis of 20 years of surveillance data collected by the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program

    Int J Circumpolar Health

    (2013)
  • C. Aporta

    Shifting perspectives on shifting ice: documenting and representing Inuit use of the sea ice

    Can Geogr Géogr Can

    (2011)
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

    Climate change 2013: The physical science basis, contributions of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

    (2013)
  • J.N. Larsen et al.

    Polar regions

  • A. Durkalec et al.

    Investigating environmental determinants of injury and trauma in the Canadian North

    Int J Environ Res Public Health

    (2014)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text