1. Impact of an HIV/AIDS Sexual Health Education Program for Youth in Southern Inuit Communities Giles, M., Schiff, R., & Valcour, J. May 2014

2. West St. Modeste, Labrador 2013

3. Research Team  Primary Investigator: Madison Giles  Supervisory Committee: Dr. Rebecca Schiff, Dr. James Valcour, and Dr. Carolyn Sturge- Sparkes  Community Partner: Scosha Diamond of the Labrador Friendship Centre (LFC)  Indigenous Governing Authority: NunatuKavut Community Council

4. Our Story Community-based & collaborative research project Need indicated by an Indigenous organization, the LFC, to evaluate their HIV/AIDS Project Funding Agencies: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Atlantic Aboriginal Health Research Project, and the Northern Scientific Training Program. No conflicts of interest to declare.

5. Background  Indigenous peoples are 3.5x more likely to be infected with HIV  Young Indigenous females who have a history of sexual abuse or IDU are most at risk  Increase of HIV infections among Indigenous youth  Paucity of age-, culture-, and community- appropriate programs for Indigenous youth

6. So What? To determine if a culturally-appropriate HIV prevention strategy is effective for youth in Southern Inuit communities School-based one-off sexual health presentation with a central HIV/AIDS component Presented and developed by a young two- spirited Southern Inuit woman Includes games, demonstrations and discussions

7. Research Objectives 1.Identify the current knowledge levels and attitudes surrounding HIV/AIDS among youth in Southern Inuit communities. 2.Evaluate whether the LFC’s sexual health presentation, specifically the HIV/AIDS component, is effective for youth in Southern Inuit communities.

8. Theory & Ethics Theoretical Stance Decolonizing Methodologies Indigenist Stress-Coping Model Information, Motivation, and Behavioural Skills Model Ethical Requirements Ethics informed by TCPS2, NunatuKavut Community Council, and principles of OCAP Participation of community partners throughout all stages of the research

9. Research Setting South coast of Labrador NunatuKavut communities: Cartwright Port Hope Simpson St. Lewis/Fox Harbour L’Anse Au Loup Labrador Coast Drive Regional Map, 2005.

10. Data Collection Self-administered pre- and post-questionnaires Assessed knowledge and attitudes surrounding HIV/AIDS, and evaluated the LFC’s presentation Amalgamation of two validated tools used frequently in the literature

11. Data Analysis Statistical program R Project Conduct ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD tests, and linear regressions to determine if relationships existed between demographic identifiers and questionnaire categories Thematic coding to analyze two open-ended questions that asked students their programming preferences

12. Sample 97 participants (60% response rate) 51% identified as female 2% identified as an LGBTQ category Participants ranged from 11 – 17 years 54% identified as Southern Inuit/Inuit-Métis All participants attended the all grade public school in their region

13. Results 1.Knowledge and attitudes increased Common misconceptions: HIV transmission, vectors, testing, vaccination and interaction with PLWHA. 2.Females gained more positive attitudes compared to males 3.Older students had more positive attitudes compared to younger students 4.Older students evaluated the LFC’s sexual health presentation higher than younger students

14. 5.A small sample of First Nations and Inuit students demonstrated lower knowledge scores at post- questionnaire 6.A small sample of LGBTQ students scored the highest in knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation 7.The most memorable aspect of the LFC’s presentation was condoms 8.Students would have enjoyed the presentation better if it included more games, activities, or demonstrations Results Continued …

15.  Follow-up education sessions  Sexual health education tailored to specific age groups  Sustained reciprocal communication between sexual health educators and school authorities  Training and support for sexual health educators Proposed Recommendations

16. Limitations  Not generalizable to all Indigenous youth in Canada, nor all high school students in Labrador  Social desirability bias given that the questionnaire addressed a sensitive topic and was self-administered  Volunteer bias given that non-probability sampling was employed

17. Implications This project has the potential to:  Inform future program design or the tailoring of the LFC’s HIV/AIDS project;  Assist community organizations and decision- makers to better understand what methods of prevention are preferred;  Highlight specific subgroups that may benefit from additional education or support, and a  Sustainable evaluation process.

18. Dissemination Aim to provide understandable and accessible reports to: participants who have requested a copy of research results; participating high schools; community partners (LFC & NunatuKavut); school board; funding agencies; broader Indigenous community through brief summary reports, and publication in peer-reviewed journals.

19. Thank-you!