Globally indigenous often suffer from a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality. Research has demonstrated that historically traumatic events and contemporary stressors have an impact on future health and wellbeing on individual level, as well as on families and communities. Despite knowledge gaps about inequalities in health and social conditions in various ethnic groups, there are still huge lack of relevant large-scale health research focusing on indigenous situation. One main challenge in the Nordic countries is the lack of ethnic identifiers in national data systems due to legislative prohibitions against the collection of ethnicity data.
This was the reason for the establishment of the Population-based Study on Health and Living Conditions in Regions with Sami and Norwegian Populations – The SAMINOR Study run by the Center for Sami Health Research at UiT The Arctic university of Norway. The definition of ethnic groups is a core question in the SAMINOR Study and can be defined in different ways, depending on the selected criteria. The SAMINOR Study consist so far of three separate epidemiological surveys; the SAMINOR 1 Survey (2003- 2004), the SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey (2012) and the SAMINOR 2 Clinical Survey (2012 – 2014). The main objectives are to assess associations between lifestyle factors and risk factors for disease in relation to the different ethnic groups. In addition, one of the key issues facing the SAMINOR project is how to develop models, conceptual frameworks, and measurement tools to make robust comparisons between groups.
In SAMINOR 1 inhabitants aged 30, 35 – 79 yr in 24 selected municipalities were invited. The SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey, was performed in the same areas as SAMINOR 1. The invitees was in the age range 18 – 69 yr. The SAMINOR 2 Clinical Survey was done in 10 selected SAMINOR municipalities. The age range was 40–79 yr.
To define the Sami and the non-Sami groups the questionnaires include 11 questions of both objective and subjective criteria. Self-reported ethnicity information enables comparisons between Sami and non-Sami participants. Selected results from the surveys, will be presented with focus cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus and mental health.
Understanding and respect of the multiethnic people diversity, priorities, needs and aspirations are essentials in the research work. Now the third SAMINOR survey is planned with novel research ideas by combining qualitative data sampling with largescale epidemiological data sampling. The overall aim is to establish close collaboration between the researcher and the target group for the research. Without understanding and acknowledging the history of previous wrongdoings a successful study can never be carried out. SAMINOR 3 has therefore user participation through collective consent administered from the Sami Parliament, the qualitative interview study and the establishment of local user groups.