Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare hospitalization rates due to pneumonia between Innu/Inuit communities in Labrador and non-Aboriginal communities on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada.
Methods: This is a comparative study using data on hospitalization due to pneumonia for the period from April 1, 1995 to March 31, 2001, for the Innu/Inuit communities in Labrador and a sample of non-Aboriginal communities on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. Data were obtained from the provincial hospital database. Hospitalization rates among the study groups were compared by age, gender, and type of pneumonia.
Results: The hospitalization rate due to pneumonia for the Innu/Inuit communities was 11.6 compared to 3.0 per 1000 population for non-Aboriginal communities (p<0.01x10(-4)). Among the Innu/Inuit communities, infants had the highest rate of hospitalization due to pneumonia (93.4 per 1000 population), while the elderly (10.2 per 1000 population) were found to have the highest rate among the non-Aboriginal sample. Overall hospitalization rate for the Innu communities (16.9 per 1000 population) was higher than that for Inuit communities (8.4 per 1000 population) (p<0.01x10(-4)).
Conclusions: Aboriginal communities, particularly the Innu communities, had higher rates of hospitalization due to pneumonia compared to the non-Aboriginal sample. Findings of this study will be used as a foundation for more specific studies in an effort to increase our understanding of pneumonia and associated risk factors.