Assessing the social and physical determinants of circumpolar population health.

Introduction: Systematic reviews of the social and physical determinants of health provide metrics for evaluation of programs to mitigate health disparities. Previous meta-analyses of the population health literature have identified several proximate social and physical determinants of population health in the circumpolar north including addiction, environmental exposures, diet/nutrition and global climate change. Proximate health determinants are most amenable to early detection and modification or mitigation through disease prevention or health promotion interventions.

Demographic and contextual factors associated with inhalant use among youth in rural Alaska.

Background: Abuse of harmful legal products that can be inhaled or ingested is a serious and growing problem in many rural Alaskan communities, and particularly so among preteens.

Methods: This study analyses data collected during baseline measurements of a 5-year NIH/NIDA-funded study entitled A Community Trial to Prevent Youth's Abuse of Harmful Legal Products in Alaska. Youth in 8 communities located throughout the state participated in a survey during the fall of 2009 to measure the prevalence and availability of harmful legal products (n=697).

Assessing the influence of health on rural outmigration in Alaska.

Objectives: This formative study is intended to generate questions and hypotheses regarding the relationship between health and outmigration from Alaska's rural communities. This study is the first to provide perspectives of rural Alaskans in the context of health concerns and health care delivery as determinants of outmigration.

Study Design: The study collected secondary data through a comprehensive review of the literature and primary data through semi-structured interviews.