Personal identification (PID) is an important, if often overlooked, barrier to accessing the social determinants of health for many marginalized people in society. A scoping review was undertaken to explore the range of research addressing the role of PID in the social determinants of health in North America, barriers to acquiring and maintaining PID, and to identify gaps in the existing research. A systematic search of academic and gray literature was performed, and a thematic analysis of the included studies (n = 31) was conducted. The themes identified were: (1) gaining and retaining identification, (2) access to health and social services, and (3) facilitating identification programs. The findings suggest a paucity of research on PID services and the role of PID in the social determinants of health. We contend that research is urgently required to build a more robust understanding of existing PID service models, particularly in rural contexts, as well as on barriers to accessing and maintaining PID, especially among the most marginalized groups in society.

This paper explores newspaper coverage of HIV non-disclosure criminal cases in Canada in which defendants are Black immigrant men living with HIV. We base our analysis on a corpus of 1680 English-language Canadian newspaper articles written between 1989 and 2015. For the first time ever, we present quantitative evidence of the dramatic overrepresentation of Black men in such coverage. We also provide an analysis of the racialised regime of representation found in this material. We emphasise how ‘writing in criminal justice time’ operates as a first-order objectification within which are embedded strategies that link constructions of moral blameworthiness with representations of racialised difference. The result is a type of popular racial profiling in which HIV non-disclosure is treated as a crime of Black men who are represented as dangerous, hypersexual foreigners who threaten the health and safety of the public and, more broadly, the imagined Canadian nation.

This article examines the complicated terrain of immunization acceptance and access among Indigenous peoples in northern Ontario by drawing on conversations held prior to 2019 that explored knowledge about Haemophilus influenzae type a (Hia) infection specifically and attitudes toward vaccines more broadly. In the decade preceding COVID-19, Hia emerged as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Indigenous communities in northern Canada. Before developing new vaccines, it is imperative to hold conversations with the communities most affected and to learn more about Indigenous peoples’ perceptions of and knowledge about vaccines, both generally and Hia specifically. We conducted focus groups and one-on-one conversations with Anishinaabe Peoples in northwestern Ontario. Our findings illustrate that decisions to vaccinate are informed by a host of social, institutional, and ideological factors and historical and contemporary relationships with government institutions and health practitioners. In particular, Indigenous community members perceived their relationships with social and health services and education institutions as coercive. Thus, public health approaches cannot continue to operate in ways that prioritize interventions for Indigenous peoples and communities so that they “do the right thing.” More emphasis is needed on health service and social service provider knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices-redirecting the onus onto those within the health care system. Solutions must respect Indigenous nationhood and the right of self-determination. Finally, we suggest the term vaccine hesitancy may not entirely capture the breadth of experiences that many Indigenous Peoples and communities have and continue to have within the health care system in Canada.

Access to cultural activities and culturally relevant healthcare has always been significant for achieving holistic Indigenous health and continues to be a key factor in shaping the health journey of Indigenous individuals and communities. Previous research has indicated the importance of cultural practices and services in sustaining cultural identity for Indigenous peoples, which is a major influence on their wellbeing. This study marks the first phase in a project aimed at establishing an Indigenous healing program and uses a qualitative research approach to understand the health and cultural services that Indigenous women want and require in Thunder Bay, Ontario. During interviews, participants (n = 22) answered questions around their understandings of health and wellbeing, and how they are able to incorporate cultural practices into their circle of care. Thematic analysis was performed on interview transcripts, and 4 key themes were identified: ‘independence and self-care’, ‘external barriers to accessing services’, ‘finding comfort in the familiar’ and ‘sense of community’. Together these themes illustrate how Indigenous women feel a strong sense of personal responsibility for maintaining their health despite the multiple environmental factors that may act as barriers or supports. Furthermore, the necessity of embedding cultural practices into Indigenous women’s circle of care is highlighted by the participants as they describe the mental, spiritual, social, and emotional health benefits of engaging in cultural activities within their community. The findings demonstrate the need for current modes of care to look beyond the individual and consider the impacts that socio-environmental factors have on Indigenous women. To accomplish this, we hope to increase access to health and cultural services through the creation of an Indigenous healing program that can be adequately incorporated into Indigenous women’s circle of care if they wish to do so.

Under international law, birth registration is considered a human right because it determines access to important legal protections as well as essential services and social supports across the lifespan. Difficulties related to birth registration and the acquisition of personal identification (PID) are largely regarded as problems specific to low-income countries. For Indigenous people in northern and rural Canada, however, lack of PID, like birth certificates, is a common problem that is rooted in the geography of the region as well as historical and contemporary settler colonial policies. This communication elucidates the complicated terrain of unregistered births for those people living in northern Ontario in order to generate discussion about how the social determinants of health for Indigenous people in Canada are affected by PID. Drawing on intake surveys, qualitative interviews and participant observation field notes, we use the case study of “Susan” as an entry point to share insights into the “intergenerational problem” of unregistered births in the region. Susan’s case speaks to how unregistered births and lack of PID disproportionately impacts the health and well-being of Indigenous people and communities in northern Ontario. The implications and the need for further research on this problem in Canada are discussed.

This paper studies how HIV criminalization is portrayed in the mainstream Canadian press by examining news representations of Trevis Smith. Smith’s case is the most reported case of criminal HIV non-disclosure in Canadian history. Our analysis is based on a corpus of 271 articles written about Smith between 2005 and 2012. Our analysis shows that coverage of Smith’s case is distinct from reportage of other criminal HIV non-disclosure cases because he was a well-known Black athlete playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the time of his criminal charge. We argue that news articles represent Smith as a particular kind of threatening racialized “other” through forms of writing that link crime reporting with sports reporting. Our analysis of headlines and quotation patterns emphasizes how news articles construct Smith as a blameworthy outsider and produce Canada as an imagined white settler nation.