“We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada

In efforts to preserve and revitalize Aboriginal languages, recently introduced language legislation in Nunavut, Canada requires the availability of all essential services in Inuit languages. In Nunavut, the majority of inhabitants speak an Inuit language as their mother tongue but pharmaceutical he...

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Main Author: Sandra J. Romain
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-01-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2017.1349563
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author Sandra J. Romain
author_facet Sandra J. Romain
author_sort Sandra J. Romain
collection DOAJ
description In efforts to preserve and revitalize Aboriginal languages, recently introduced language legislation in Nunavut, Canada requires the availability of all essential services in Inuit languages. In Nunavut, the majority of inhabitants speak an Inuit language as their mother tongue but pharmaceutical health care is currently only available in English or French. Some challenges to legislative compliance include multiple dialects spoken across the Territory, the absence of any standardized Inuit terminology, and a complete absence of any pharmacists or pharmacy technicians who speak an Inuit language. Language concordant pharmacy health care is essential as it informs patient understanding of dosing instructions, side effects and treatment rationale which reduce adverse drug events, increase patient adherence and maximize the benefits of pharmacotherapy. The development of Inuit pharmaceutical terminology enhances the appreciation of Inuit language adaptability, while building cross-cultural understandings of biomedical and Inuit wellness ideologies and practices. The engagement of Nunavummiut will be essential to address challenges and to ensure that the full advantages of Inuit pharmacy health care can be realized however, the benefits of Inuit language pharmaceutical health care offer an important contribution to the health and well-being of Nunavummiut.
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spelling doaj.art-f8db4feb673044a7bba33156cded98232022-12-21T20:26:05ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862017-01-013110.1080/23311886.2017.13495631349563“We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, CanadaSandra J. Romain0University of TorontoIn efforts to preserve and revitalize Aboriginal languages, recently introduced language legislation in Nunavut, Canada requires the availability of all essential services in Inuit languages. In Nunavut, the majority of inhabitants speak an Inuit language as their mother tongue but pharmaceutical health care is currently only available in English or French. Some challenges to legislative compliance include multiple dialects spoken across the Territory, the absence of any standardized Inuit terminology, and a complete absence of any pharmacists or pharmacy technicians who speak an Inuit language. Language concordant pharmacy health care is essential as it informs patient understanding of dosing instructions, side effects and treatment rationale which reduce adverse drug events, increase patient adherence and maximize the benefits of pharmacotherapy. The development of Inuit pharmaceutical terminology enhances the appreciation of Inuit language adaptability, while building cross-cultural understandings of biomedical and Inuit wellness ideologies and practices. The engagement of Nunavummiut will be essential to address challenges and to ensure that the full advantages of Inuit pharmacy health care can be realized however, the benefits of Inuit language pharmaceutical health care offer an important contribution to the health and well-being of Nunavummiut.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2017.1349563aboriginal/indigenous healthcircumpolarlanguagepharmacy health caretranslations
spellingShingle Sandra J. Romain
“We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada
Cogent Social Sciences
aboriginal/indigenous health
circumpolar
language
pharmacy health care
translations
title “We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada
title_full “We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada
title_fullStr “We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada
title_full_unstemmed “We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada
title_short “We don’t have the words in Inuktitut”: Pharmacy translations in Nunavut, Canada
title_sort we don t have the words in inuktitut pharmacy translations in nunavut canada
topic aboriginal/indigenous health
circumpolar
language
pharmacy health care
translations
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2017.1349563
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