FIRST NATIONS UNIVERSITY OF CANADA
Research Grant offered for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program

Drs. Arzu Sardarli and Carrie LaVallie received a research grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research within the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program to conduct their two-year project, Comparative Analysis of Birth and Death Time Series in Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Populations in Canadian Provinces and The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Them.

Human birth seasonality was first recognized in the 19th century. Today, this phenomenon remains an essential topic of study across diverse scientific disciplines. Notwithstanding the growing literature in this area, no consensus has been established regarding which factors are most dominant in forming seasonal birth oscillations. Researchers will study the role of environmental (temperature) and sociological factors in forming the birth time series in Canadian provinces from 1900 to the present. They will use a novel approach to temperature data collection to improve the accuracy of birth vs. temperature correlation analysis. To study the role of sociocultural factors, we will compare the birth time series obtained in Indigenous and Non-Indigenous communities.

Four Elders and Knowledge Keepers will be interviewed within the project. They will be asked to talk about the family planning traditions in First Nations communities. They also will be asked to share their knowledge about the changes in family planning during the colonization period.

The monthly birth and death data of Canadian provinces and territories will be obtained at the Regina and Saskatoon Research Data Centres of Statistics Canada.

An Indigenous student will be trained and appointed to participate in the project as a Research Assistant.