Determinants of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Canadian Inuit Adolescent Populations

Abstract

The health status of Canadian Inuit is considerably lower than that of their ancestors. The introduction of previously unknown diseases (e.g., tuberculosis), substance abuse (e.g., alcohol), and Western customs have permanently altered this population. As a result of Western assimilation, many Inuit have distanced themselves from their land and severed their ancestral ties. Consequently, many are now mired in a state of widespread poverty and malnutrition and have severe health problems (e.g., addictions) and communicable diseases, such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The purpose of this case report is to provide an overview of the STI crisis that exists among Canadian Inuit. More specifically, this case study is intended to assist public health nurses working in Inuit communities in understanding how certain determinants (e.g., Westernization, culture) may influence STI transmission among Inuit youth and, how to incorporate these determinants into nursing practice. Inuit adolescents have been subjected to intense acculturation pressures that do not exist for other adolescent populations. These pressures are creating problems for youth in their transition from childhood and adulthood; they also impact on the struggle to establish their own identity, caught between two opposing cultures: their native culture and the wider Canadian one.