Aboriginal Living Conditions

Housing and living conditions can indirectly or directly impact on health (Butler-Jones, 2008). Although housing conditions for Aboriginal peoples have improved in the past decade, according to the 2006 census, Aboriginal are four times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to live in overcrowded, and three times as likely to live in a dwelling in need of major repairs (Statistics Canada, 2008). Inadequate housing can lead to health problems, such as respiratory diseases, allergies, and mental –health problems and to the spread of potential deadly viruses, such as H1N1 today. Dramatic levels of overcrowding may account for the fact that Inuit children have among the highest rates severe lower respiratory tract infection in the world (Smylie,