A cross-sectional study exploring community perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19 in Nunavut and recommendations for a Holistic Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit approach to emergency response.

The goal of this study was to examine and address critical knowledge gaps and develop an understanding of both the positive and negative societal outcomes resulting from the public health measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Nunavut and the interventions being undertaken to promote positive well-being. Data collection for this study included narrative, in-person interviews in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, and Cambridge Bay between September 2022 and January 2023. A total of 70 participants were interviewed for this study. Community highlighted challenges, such as crowding and food insecurity, and concern for the collective wellbeing of the community. Strengths included financials supports, food sharing, and maintaining community connections over a distance. Recommendations included a focus on holistic health such as 1) public education and awareness about communicable disease, 2) financial supports, 3) housing, 4) access to healthcare, 5) focus on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, 6) mental-health and addiction supports, and 7) community spaces. Community members described both strengths and challenges they believe impacted their experiences and service delivery as well as recommendations for the future.

The Impact of Language on the Mental Health of Black Quebecers.

Quebec's English-speaking Black community finds itself at the intersection of racial and linguistic discrimination, which presents challenges to mental wellness. The present study aims to add necessary detail to the conversations surrounding racism and mental health in Canada while including language as a determinant of health and intersecting element affecting the wellbeing of English-speaking Black Quebecers. We recruited 531 Black adults who are currently living in Quebec to complete a survey on various community-relevant items, including their mental and physical health, their experiences of discrimination, and barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Our analyses revealed that English-speaking participants experience more discrimination across all types and report more barriers to mental healthcare and lower mental health than their French-speaking counterparts. Furthermore, we found that language also had a mediated effect on mental health through discrimination and barriers to mental healthcare. Our study adds to the sparse race-based and intersectional literature about Black people in Canada and substantiates a mechanism by which language affects mental health by exposing Black Quebecers to more discrimination and thus higher barriers to care.