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Abstract
Background
There is a dearth of literature to guide the development of community-based HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and sexual health promotion programs within Inuit communities.
Objective
The aim of this study was to create a dialogue with Inuit women to address the lack of information available to inform programming to improve the sexual health of Inuit women, their families, and their communities in the Canadian Arctic.
Design
This study used Indigenous methodologies and methods by drawing from Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and postcolonial research theory in a framework of Two-Eyed Seeing, and using storytelling sessions to gather data. Community-based participatory research principles informed the design of the study, ensuring participants were involved in all stages of the project. Nine storytelling sessions took place with 21 Inuit women aged 18–61 years. Storytelling sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and Atlas.ti aided in the organization of the data for collaborative thematic analysis within three participatory analysis sessions with 13 of the participating women.
Results
From the storytelling and analysis sessions, five major themes emerged: (a) the way it used to be, (b) change, (c) family, (d) intimate relationships and (e) holistic strategies. Participating women emphasized that HIV and STI prevention and sexual health promotion programming needs to take a holistic, community-wide, family-focused and youth-centred approach within their communities.
Conclusion
Participants identified several important determinants of sexual health and shared ideas for innovative approaches they believe will work as prevention efforts within their communities. This article specifically focuses on key characteristics of programming aimed at STI and HIV prevention and sexual health promotion that were identified throughout participants’ stories. This study has provided a narrative to complement the epidemiological data that highlight the urgent need for prevention programming.
This paper is part of the Special Issue: Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion in the Circumpolar North, guest edited by Cornelia Jessen, Brenna Simons, Jessica Leston and Elizabeth Rink. More papers from this issue can be found at www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net
This paper is part of the Special Issue: Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion in the Circumpolar North, guest edited by Cornelia Jessen, Brenna Simons, Jessica Leston and Elizabeth Rink. More papers from this issue can be found at www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net
Acknowledgements
I thank Drs. Charlotte Reading and Catherine Worthington for guidance throughout this project. To the women of Kugluktuk, Quana for your strength, your stories and for making this possible.
Notes
This paper is part of the Special Issue: Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion in the Circumpolar North, guest edited by Cornelia Jessen, Brenna Simons, Jessica Leston and Elizabeth Rink. More papers from this issue can be found at www.circumpolarhealthjournal.net