Project 416842

Sexual health is influenced by several different factors in a person's life, including issues related to gender and age. Women and girls have unique sexual health priorities/risks, particularly as they transition into adult roles. However young women's sexual health has focused on what adults want them to avoid and what is forgotten is that sexual health is normal. Understanding young women's perspective on sexual health is the first step to effective STBBI/HIV prevention in this critical population, and an important pathway to improved sexual health for all women. The purpose of this study is to understand how young women frame/experience sexual health within the context of their lives and, from that, to identify STBBI/HIV prevention strategies that align with their priorities. This study will make visible the priorities and experiences of young, diverse Canadian women related to sexual health and expand current evidence, theory, and frameworks for HIV/STBBI prevention in this population. The impact of this project lies in the opportunity to expose inequities in the sexual health of young women in Canada. Critical feminist theory will provide a framework for this three-phased qualitative, exploratory study. The study will include the use of one-on-one interviews with 25-30 women, aged 18 to 24 (phase 1), an arts-based method in which participants will take pictures related to the study's purpose (phase 2), and finally an action phase that addresses STBBI/HIV prevention (phase 3). This study aims to achieve actionable recommendations for inclusive sexual health promotion strategies. Establishing sexual health promotion opportunities in young women not only has immediate impact potential but can establish healthy patterns related to sexual health throughout their lives and at times when STBBI/HIV risk might increase. In the era of #MeToo, global leadership for women and girls, and the recent launch of Canada's Five Year Action Plan on STBBIs this research is timely.