Research has shown that Canadian First Nation (FN) populations were disproportionately affected by the 2009 H1N1 influenza pan- demic. However, the mechanisms for the disproportionate outcomes are not well understood. Possibilities such as healthcare access, in- frastructure and housing issues, and pre-existing comorbidities have been suggested. We estimated the odds of hospitalization and inten- sive care unit admission for cases of H1N1 influenza among FN liv- ing in Manitoba, Canada, to determine the effect of location of residency and other factors on disease outcomes during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
Objective
We sought to measure from surveillance data the effect of prox- imity to an urban centre (rurality) and other risk factors, (e.g., age, residency on a FN reservation, and pandemic wave) on hospitaliza- tion and intensive care unit admission for severe influenza.