Cancer-related health behaviours and health service use among Inuit and other residents of Canada's north

We found that significantly higher smoking and binge drinking rates and lower rates of female cancer screening among Inuit are found not to be accounted for by differences in observable demographic and socio-economic characteristics, location of residence or distance from a hospital. As such we conclude that health-related behaviours leading to increased cancer risk and to a lower utilization of diagnostic cancer screening appear to be due to unobserved factors specific to Inuit and their unique social-cultural context. Policy interventions to address these problems may need to be targeted specifically to Inuit Canadians and should not be considered in isolation of their broader health, economic and social environment.