Master of Public Health practicum students Yabo Seid and Anna Billowits have completed their review of health-related research that has happened in the Territory. They located Yukon health research in the ASTIS database, the Yukon Government Compendium of Research and Monitoring, the Theses Canada database, and Google Scholar. Anna and Yabo included information from a total of 60 research projects.
Mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and food security are the most common themes of Yukon-based health research. Within mental health, the research mostly considers youth and members of Yukon First Nations. Sexual and reproductive health literature focuses primarily on sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs), abortion care, or congenital abnormalities. Much of the food security literature emphasizes how climate change will impact the availability of traditional foods. This relates to the theme of biocontaminants, where projects assessed the accumulation of environmental contaminants via consumption of country foods and drinking water. COVID-19 is an emerging theme as studies funded by the Yukon Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Research Program are published.
Anna and Yabo have recommended creating a Yukon health research mapping tool to share more information about these projects. This tool will be available on the new YSPOR website and will be updated yearly as new research is published. Find a draft of the tool here. This project aligns with YSPOR strategic priorities to promote health research that is interdisciplinary, accessible to Yukon residents, and relevant to the unique context of the Yukon.