CMAJ Open 2022 Apr-Jun;10(2):E304-E312. Epub 2022 May 3.
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (McVicar, Hoang-Nguyen, Poon, Bould, McIsaac), University of Ottawa; The Ottawa Hospital (McVicar, Hoang-Nguyen, Kimmaliardjuk, Poon, McIsaac); Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Bould), Ottawa, Ont.; Department of Anaesthesia (O'Shea), Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia; Department of Surgery (Kimmaliardjuk), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont.; West Parry Sound Health Centre (Champion), Parry Sound, Ont.; Department of Surgery (Champion), Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Sudbury, Ont.; Qikiqtani General Hospital (Sheffield), Iqaluit, Nunavut; Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (Allen); Bruyère Research Institute (Nickerson); Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics (Nickerson), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont.; Department of Surgery and Northern Medical Program (Caron), University of British Columbia, Prince George, BC; Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health (Caron), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
Background: Structural aspects of health care systems, such as limited access to specialized surgical and perioperative care, can negatively affect the outcomes and resource use of patients undergoing elective and emergency surgical procedures. The aim of this study was to compare postoperative outcomes of Nunavut Inuit and non-Inuit patients at a Canadian quaternary care centre.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving adult (age ≥ 18 yr) patients undergoing inpatient surgery from 2011 to 2018 at The Ottawa Hospital, the quaternary referral hospital for the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut. Read More