Inuit parent perspectives on sexual health communication with adolescent children in Nunavut: “It's kinda hard for me to try to find the words”

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Author: Gwen Healey
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2014
• Subjects: Inuit; sexual health; public health; adolescents; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Nunavut; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; inuit
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v73.25070; https://doaj.org/article/0895a9d0b4534a76bcdb3d11606f0832

Background: For Inuit, the family unit has always played a central role in life and in survival. Social changes in Inuit communities have resulted in significant transformations to economic, political and cultural aspects of Inuit society. Where the family unit was once the setting for dialogue on family relations and sexuality, this has largely been replaced by teachings from the medical community and/or the school system. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore Inuit parent perspectives on sharing knowledge with teenage children about sexual health and relationships. Method: A qualitative Indigenous knowledge approach was used for this study with a focus on Inuit ways of knowing as described in the Piliriqattigiinniq Community Health Research Partnership Model. Interviews were conducted with 20 individual parents in 3 Nunavut communities in 2011. Parents were asked about whether and how they talk to their children about sexual health and relationships. An analytical approach building on the concept of Iqqaumaqatigiiniq (“all knowing coming into one”), which is similar to “immersion and crystallization,” was used to identify story elements, groupings or themes in the data. The stories shared by parents are honoured, keeping their words intact as often as possible in the presentation of results. Results: Parents shared stories of themselves, family members and observations of the community. Fifteen of 17 mothers in the study reported having experienced sexual abuse as children or adolescents. Parents identified the challenges that they have and continue to experience as a result of forced settlement, family displacement and the transition of Inuit society. They expressed a desire to teach their children about sexual health and relationships and identified the need for emotional support to do this in the wake of the trauma they have experienced. Parents highly valued elders and the knowledge they have about family relationships and childrearing. Conclusion: There are powerful, unresolved healing ...