Researchers want to see if getting rid of mold and other issues will improve health on reserves.
As a result, the First Nations University of Canada, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina are conducting a study.
The researchers will conduct baseline evaluations, intervention activities, and prospective evaluations of respiratory health in First Nations children and adults.
In particular, the research team will look at conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnea — and attempt to determine how much of that is caused by factors such as poor air quality and overcrowded housing.
The study will start May 1st on the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation and the Montreal Lake Cree Nation.
Students from those reserves will test their neighbours.
Beardy’s and Okemasis health portfolio manager Bryce Michael is excited about the project’s potential:
“We’ll have scientific data to back up claims of mold in the homes as a cause of some of our respiratory problems, the health of our children and long-term health problems like that.”
The federal government is providing $1.5 million over five years for the project.