Advancing Health Equity and Preventive Cardiovascular Care in Indigenous and Remote Communities: a Mobile Healthcare Unit

Indigenous people living in Canada face significant healthcare inequities, particularly in basic, primary, and secondary prevention, leading to higher rates of cardiovascular disease and mortality. This program aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the contextual and individual determinants influencing Indigenous health, and to address health disparities by using tailored community-led participatory research and care initiatives. The investigator and research team use a Mobile Healthcare Unit travelling to Indigenous communities, providing customized, impactful, and sustainable preventive care that adapts dynamically to the evolving needs of each community. The initiative places a strong emphasis on equity and inclusivity, aiming to generate original data in Indigenous and remote underrepresented/underserved populations. This proposal will improve opportunities of identifying facilitators and barriers to preventive care in Indigenous and remote communities. This focus is vital for reducing health disparities and aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. To maximize knowledge mobilization and ensure culturally appropriate initiatives align with community needs and priorities, this research program collaborates with the Indigenous University Hub at Laval University, local community members and leaders, and Indigenous peoples with lived experience. Existing national and international collaborations with Indigenous communities further enhance the initiative's potential impact and foster knowledge mobilization on a global scale. The ultimate goal is to empower Indigenous peoples and communities to advocate for systemic changes to fight inequities in healthcare in accordance with appropriated truth and reconciliation efforts.