Ethical Approaches to Adolescent Participation in Sexual Health Research

In this paper we make the case for the importance of adolescent sexual health research, and argue that requiring parental consent for adolescent participation may (a) be unwarranted, (b) be inconsistent with the principles of justice and inclusiveness, (c) be confusing, and (d) serve to silence young people who most need to have a voice in sexual health research.MethodsThrough a case study of the Toronto Teen Survey, we offer concrete suggestions and alternatives for protecting adolescent health research participants in community-based settings and promoting ethical research approaches.ResultsStrategies suggested include: (1) adopting a community-based participatory research approach, (2) careful attention to youth-friendly protocols and consent procedures, (3) proper training of all research staff and peer researchers, (4) partnering with experienced community based youth-serving agencies, (5) paying maximum attention to issues of confidentiality and anonymity, and (6) valuing participation appropriately.ConclusionsInstitutional review boards and researchers should be encouraged to adopt localized context-dependent strategies that attend to the unique vulnerabilities of their particular study populations. Attention to flexibility, vulnerability, and community-specific needs is necessary to ensure appropriate ethical research practices that attend to the health and well-being of young people

Ask Me No Secrets, I\u27ll Tell You No Lies: What Happens When a Respondent\u27s Story Makes No Sense

In health research, we depend heavily on the goodwill of study participants. However, the whole social contract of health research is based on the premise that everyone comes to the research table with honorable intentions. What course should we take if we doubt the authenticity of our participants accounts? Through the use of an illustrative case study, this paper will explore three different ways of thinking about (and handling) implausible narratives

Community Based Participatory Research Is Useful When Done Properly

The Community Based Participatory Research method is an excellent approach to doing health research as it can potentially benefit the participants, researchers, and community service providers. The significant costs, in terms of time, money, and commitment, need to be considered when wanting to get the most out of the CBPR method.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Narratives of resistance: (Re) Telling the story of the HIV/AIDS movement – Because the lives and legacies of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities depend on it

Centering the narratives of the intersectional struggles within the HIV movement for Indigenous sovereignty, Black and People of Colour liberation, and LGBTQ rights tirelessly fought for by Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities legitimates their lives and legacies within the movement; and the relevance of a focused response to the HIV epidemic that continues to wreak devastation in these communities. The recent political push for a post-HIV era solely centers the realities of middle-class white, gay men and has genocidal implications for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities

A Content Analysis of Youth Sexual Health Websites: Exploring their Relevance and Accessibility for Youth with Disabilities

oai:ht.journals.yorku.ca:article/37271Because web-based campaigns are an important part of health promotion campaigns for youth, this research examines sexual health websites aimed at youth and explores the messages on HIV/AIDS for their relevance and accessibility for youth with disabilities. The researchers’ underlying understanding of disability is that it is socially constructed and that people with disabilities experience social exclusion. We used a directed content analysis method to analyze 21 websites that met our inclusion criteria based on our indicators of accessibility and relevance and for their key messages. We found that the messaging across all sites was highly consistent: sex-positive, gay-positive, and non-judgmental about youth sexual expression. However, none of the prevention information specifically considered mobility, verbal and cognitive disability, participation and information barriers faced by youth with disabilities, or their heightened sexual vulnerability. Only one site depicted disability in images and none depicted disability and sexuality. There is a clear need to better understand the sexual health information needs of youth with disabilities and to develop safe sex information that is relevant and accessible to them

“Because we have really unique art”: Decolonizing Research with Indigenous Youth Using the Arts

Indigenous communities in Canada share a common history of colonial oppression. As a result, many Indigenous populations are disproportionately burdened with poor health outcomes, including HIV. Conventional public health approaches have not yet been successful in reversing this trend. For this study, a team of community- and university-based researchers came together to imagine new possibilities for health promotion with Indigenous youth. A strengths-based approach was taken that relied on using the energies and talents of Indigenous youth as a leadership resource. Art-making workshops were held in six different Indigenous communities across Canada in which youth could explore the links between community, culture, colonization, and HIV. Twenty artists and more than 85 youth participated in the workshops. Afterwards, youth participants reflected on their experiences in individual in-depth interviews. Youth participants viewed the process of making art as fun, participatory, and empowering; they felt that their art pieces instilled pride, conveyed information, raised awareness, and constituted a tangible achievement. Youth participants found that both the process and products of arts-based methods were important. Findings from this project support the notion that arts-based approaches to the development of HIV-prevention knowledge and Indigenous youth leadership are helping to involve a diverse cross-section of youth in a critical dialogue about health. Arts-based approaches represent one way to assist with decolonization for future generations

How Do Gender Norms Affect Our Risk of HIV?

Youth carry a diverse set of beliefs on HIV risk and responsibility. Prevention and education about sexual health must address gender stereotypes and inequities that are related to HIV.York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Governing through community-based research: Lessons from the Canadian HIV research sector

AbstractThe “general public” and specific “communities” are increasingly being integrated into scientific decision-making. This shift emphasizes “scientific citizenship” and collaboration between interdisciplinary scientists, lay people, and multi-sector stakeholders (universities, healthcare, and government). The objective of this paper is to problematize these developments through a theoretically informed reading of empirical data that describes the consequences of bringing together actors in the Canadian HIV community-based research (CBR) movement. Drawing on Foucauldian “governmentality” the complex inner workings of the impetus to conduct collaborative research are explored. The analysis offered surfaces the ways in which a formalized approach to CBR, as promoted through state funding mechanisms, determines the structure and limits of engagement while simultaneously reinforcing the need for finer grained knowledge about marginalized communities. Here, discourses about risk merge with notions of “scientific citizenship” to implicate both researchers and communities in a process of governance

Using the Internet to Help HIV-Positive Youth

The internet is a useful medium for assisting HIV positive youth. Youth need a dedicated website to access information, services, and social support to help manage their HIV.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

The Ontario Sexual Health Education Update: Perspectives from the Toronto Teen Survey (TTS) Youth

Sexual health education in schools is a controversial topic. In 2015 an updated version of the sex education program was introduced to schools in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The curriculum received strong criticism from some parents and lobby groups. Similar objections led to the Ontario Liberal government withdrawing the previous sex education program update in 2010. Public debates about the appropriateness of the new curriculum are primarily concerned with the extent to which parents were consulted. Absent from these discussions are the opinions of the curriculum’s target group: students. What do young people have to say about their sexual health education, and how can this information be used to provide more effective programs in schools? In this article we draw on the findings of the Toronto Teen Survey (TTS) (N = 1,216) to discuss youth responses to questions about their experience with sexual health education and the relevance of this information for school-based sexual health education (SBSE). Considering that TTS youth identified schools as their primary source of sexual health education, the survey findings have value for SBSE. In discussing the TTS data in the context of the updated Ontario sexual health curriculum, we provide a youth perspective on the revised sexual health education program that was implemented in the fall of 2015