AIDSImpact.com:: - Santa Fe, USA 2011

Abstract #229 - Exploring Black-Canadian parent youth sexual health communication
Authors: Presenting Author: Miss Nakia Lee-Foon - University of Ontrario Institute of Technology
Additional Authors: Dr. Clemon George, Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan, Ms. Michelle Poirier , Dr. Josephine Etowa ,
Method / Issue: Issues: Black youth in Ontario, Canada are disproportionately affected by HIV. Some studies in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe have indicated that Black parent-youth sexual health communication can significantly reduce Black youths’ sexual risk behaviours and HIV exposure. However, issues such as the immigration and acculturation processes, housing, employment, and other factors may negatively impact Black Canadian parent-youth sexual health communication and their response to HIV. As such, this study explores sexual health parental communication issues and its impact on sexual health behaviours of Black-Canadian youth populations in Toronto, Ontario Canada. It also examines the role of parental gender in the dynamics of communicating health and sexuality information to youth. Project: As there are no studies of this type that have been conducted in Canada, we begin with Key Informant (KI) in-depth interviews (I-dI) to elucidate the issues that are important to Black- Canadian communities but have not been documented. The study has received ethics approval from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, The University of Ottawa, Dalhousie and McMaster University. Individuals selected as KIs were those aged 15 and above who previously or currently work with Black-Canadian parents or youth. KIs were recruited through word of mouth, recommendations from fellow KIs and through advertising on a virtual youth worker network. KI candidates were contacted via email or phone by the Study Coordinator (SC). The interview time, date and location were selected by the KIs. All KIs were notified they would be audio tapped and notes would be taken prior to the interview. Further, the SC provided KIs with information concerning the study and reviewed the consent form with the KIs. KIs were consented prior to the commencement of the interview. KIs were interviewed by the Study Coordinator (female) and an Investigator (male) at locations requested the KIs (Cafe, public library) in Toronto, Ontario. The resulting data was then transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed using nVivo.
Results / Comments: Lessons Learned: KIs indicated some of the main challenges impacting Black-Canadian parent-youth sexual health communication include: a lack of sexual health knowledge of both parents and youth; parental fear that direct sexual health communication will prompt their youth to engage in sexual activity; the lack of cultural sensitivity of school based sexual health education programs; and the void of uniformity in Black-Canadian parent-youth sexual health communication due to parental gender.
Discussion: Parental fears concerning sexual health communication with youth and lack of sexual health knowledge must be addressed in order to foster effective Black parent-youth sexual health communication. Further, there is a need for high school sexual health education programs to be culturally competent and reflect its diverse student body. Also, parental gender must be reviewed in order to ensure youth are receiving the same sexual health information from their parent(s). Finally, as Black Canadian populations are exposed to a cultural and socio-economic environment similar to their American counterparts, the results of this study may be applicable to African-American parents and youth.
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