By Chonglu Huang
Dr. Tom Kovesi, uOttawa pediatrics professor and CHEO respirologist, is joining a 10-year, $15-million project to study the health of 5,000 First Nations children in 50 communities across Canada.
The FEHNCY project — which stands for Food, Environment, Health and Nutrition of First Nations Children and Youth — is funded by Indigenous Services Canada and will run for 10 years from 2020 to 2030. uOttawa Faculty of Science’s Dr. Laurie Chan is also part of the interdisciplinary team.
“I see this study as my dream study,” said Dr. Kovesi. “I say that because each Indigenous community across Canada is unique. What may be true for one community in Interior B.C. is totally different for another in Nunavut. Therefore, the only way to know the housing conditions and associated respiratory health is to visit each community from coast to coast—this study enables us to do that.”
Dr. Kovesi is leading the component of FEHNCY focused on housing conditions, indoor air quality and respiratory health. He is tasked with replicating his recent studies of indoor air quality at Sioux Lookout and Big Trout Lake Nation, where he measured indoor air quality during the coldest months of the season when the buildings are tightly sealed.
The other three components of the FEHNCY project are focused on 1) food nutrition, security and environment; 2) environmental contaminants and the social determinants of health; and 3) community mobilization and intergenerational knowledge building.
As in his previous research studies, Dr. Kovesi will collaborate and receive permission from Indigenous partners, First Nations leaders, and local community members.
“Right from the get-go, the Assembly of First Nations is one of the co-investigators of the FEHNCY study. They will be driving much of the research questions,” said Dr. Kovesi. “This is incredibly important and exciting.”
Principal investigators:
- Dr. Laurie Chan, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Science
- Dr. Tom Kovesi, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine
- Dr. Tonio Sadik and Irving Leblanc, Assembly of First Nations
- Dr. Mélanie Lemire, Dr. Richard Bélanger and Dr. Pierre Ayotte, Université Laval
- Dr. Malek Batal and Dr. Geneviève Mercille, University of Montreal
- Dr. Treena Delormier and Dr. Mylène Riva, McGill University
- Dr. Jiping Zhu, Health Canada
Data collection:
The data collection begins this January with two pilot communities to test the methodology and data collection tools. Starting in September 2020, five to 12 First Nations communities will be randomly selected each year from within the seven Assembly of First Nations regions, of which 100 households will then be randomly selected.
