Cancer-related health behaviours and health service use among Inuit and other residents of Canada's north

This article identifies the extent to which demographic, socio-economic and geographic factors account for differences between Inuit and other Northern Canadian residents in health-related behaviours and health service use related to cancer incidence and diagnosis. The study population includes Inuit, Métis, First Nation and non-Aboriginal residents aged 21–65 who live in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Labrador, Nunavik and Jamésie in northern Quebec, and the northern regions of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Data are drawn from confidential versions of the 2000–2001 and 2004–2005 Canadian Community Health Surveys and the 2001 Aboriginal People's Survey produced by Statistics Canada. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis is applied to a set of health-related behaviours including cigarette smoking, binge drinking and obesity, and a set of basic health service use measures including consultation with a physician, consultation with a nurse, Pap smear testing and mammography.