“ We’re Home Now ”: How a Rehousing Intervention Shapes the Mental Well-Being of Inuit Adults in Nunavut, Canada

Karine Perreault, Josée Lapalme, Louise Potvin and Mylène Riva
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Karine Perreault: École de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada
Josée Lapalme: École de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada
Louise Potvin: École de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada
Mylène Riva: Institute for Health and Social Policy, Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0B9, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-24

Abstract: This study explores the ways in which a rehousing intervention shapes the mental well-being of Inuit adults living in Nunavut, Canada, where the prevalence of core housing need is four times the national average. More specifically, it compares the housing experiences of participants who were rehoused in a newly built public housing unit, to the experiences of participants on the public housing waitlist. The study was developed in collaboration with organizations based in Nunavut and Nunavik. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed, and a deductive-inductive thematic analysis was performed based on Gidden’s concept of ontological security, and Inuit-specific mental health conceptualization. Twenty-five Inuit adults participated (11 rehoused, 14 waitlist). Three themes were identified to describe how the subjective housing experiences of participants improved their mental well-being after rehousing: (1) refuge creation; (2) self-determination and increased control; (3) improved family dynamics and identity repair. Implicit to these themes are the contrasting housing experiences of participants on the waitlist. Construction initiatives that increase public housing stock and address gaps in the housing continuum across Inuit regions could promote well-being at a population level. However, larger socio-economic problems facing Inuit may hamper beneficial processes stemming from such interventions.

Keywords: housing construction; social housing; rehousing intervention; Indigenous; Inuit; mental health; health promotion; social determinant of health; Nunavut (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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