Hobart, Charles W. (1975) Socioeconomic correlates of mortality and morbidity among Inuit infants, Arctic Anthropology 12(1): 37-48
Keyword: children and youth, crowding, health, housing conditions
This journal article is a report on a pilot study on the socioeconomic correlations with Inuit infant mortality and morbidity in the Canadian Arctic from January 1969 to December 1971. The aim of the study was to determine whether there were different rates and causes of infant mortality/morbidity in large settlements, such as Inuvik, and smaller settlements, such as Pelly Bay. The data was from Northern Health Service reports, and interviews with mothers of deceased infants.
The research looked at several questions relating to housing conditions, occupancy, cleanliness, heating system, and toilet facilities. The results showed that for both large and small settlements, infant health was positively associated with a larger number of bedrooms, a lower persons-per- room ratio, modern heating system, modern toilets, quality of the home, and cleanliness.
In other words, uncrowded housing and modern facilities (tap-fed water, vented toilets, good heating facilities) were associated with good infant health and lower rates of infant mortality.