Arctic health policy: contribution of scientific data.

In Western Hemisphere arctic regions, scientific findings in humans, wildlife, and the environment have resulted in major governmental policy formulations. Government policy resulted in establishment of an effective international organization to address scientifically identified problems, including health disparities in arctic indigenous populations. Western scientific data and indigenous knowledge from initial international programs led to international agreements restricting certain persistent organic pollutants. In recent years, scientific data, and indigenous traditional knowledge, have resulted in governmental policy in the United States, Canada, and Nordic countries that includes the full participation of indigenous residents in defining research agendas, interpreting data, communicating information, and local community policy formulation.