Empowering Health Promotion

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, among others, are significant health concerns for Canadian aboriginal (i.e., First Nations, Inuit) adolescents. This is further compounded by ineffective prevention and promotion strategies that were designed to lessen the incid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Holistic Nursing
Main Author: Steenbeek, Audrey
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2004
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0898010104266714
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0898010104266714
Description
Summary:Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, among others, are significant health concerns for Canadian aboriginal (i.e., First Nations, Inuit) adolescents. This is further compounded by ineffective prevention and promotion strategies that were designed to lessen the incidence of STIs in this population. Structure and content of health service programs are crucial considerations in STI prevention because even well-constructed and carefully implemented programs may have very little impact on aboriginal youth if these programs are not culturally sensitive and specific to individual adolescent’s needs. Furthermore, because components of sexual and reproductive health are inextricably linked to empowerment and equality between the sexes, holistic health nurses need to develop strategies that increase self-esteem, self-advocacy, and healthy choices among aboriginal adolescents.