Blame Canada's history for low rates of cancer screening among Indigenous women, doctor says

A B.C. doctor says the colonial history of Canada's health care system is preventing Indigenous women from being screened for cervical cancer and shehopes asolutioncan be found in a health initiativein EastAfrica.

Indigenous women in B.C. are 92 per cent more likely to develop cervical cancer than non-Indigenous women,according to a joint study from the B.C. Cancer Agency and First Nations Health Authority. The same study also found lower survival rates for Indigenous people with cancer.

• First Nations in B.C. face lower cancer survival rates than non-First Nations

Part of that disparity can be explained by the colonial history of healthcare in Canada saidDr. Sheona Mitchell-Foster, an obstetrician-gynecologistand assistant professor in the University of British Columbia's Northern Medical Program in Prince George.

"Ultimately, it's a colonial system,"she told CBCDaybreak Northhost Carolina de Ryk.

For decades, Indigenous people were treated in segregated, government-run "Indian hospitals" where, according to those who lived through the system, they were subject to abuse and experimentationthat included forced sterilization hundreds of women.

Mitchell-Foster said that history needs to be considered when looking at the modern-day healthcare system.

"If your aunty, if your mom, your grandma interacted with the healthcare system and, for example,was forcibly sterilized or sterilized without her consent as a part of a reproductive exam, that's going to have a profound impact on whether you engage with the healthcare system," she said.

• Mistreated: The legacy of segregated hospitals haunts Indigenous survivors

• B.C. author tells the horrific story of so-called 'Indian hospitals

Other factors cited by Mitchell-Foster include the distances Indigenous women in northern B.C. have to travel to bescreenedand that many doctors who administerpap smears are men.

"That's a uniquely invasive exam," she said.

To counter this, Mitchell-Foster is working with Carrier Sekani Family Services andMtisNation B.C. to give Indigenous women in northern B.C. take-home kits that allow them to self-test for the human papillomavirusor HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer.

The screening model is based on a projecttheB.C.'s Women's Health Research Institute is running in Uganda.

Should the experiment see increased rates of screening among participants, Mitchellwill advocate for it to be adoptedin rural B.C.