“You feel you have to be made of steel”: The strong Black woman,health, and well-being in Nova Scotia

The “strong Black woman” construct has been well-documented in the United States as both an aspirational icon and a constricting burden for African-heritage women. It has not been examined among African-Canadians. Drawing on qualitative interviews and standardized measures with 50 African-heritage women in Eastern Canada, our analysis reveals their perceptions of the construct as both strongly endorsed as a source of cultural pride, yet also acknowledged to take a terrible toll on health and well-being. The construct arises from and directly benefits racism. It is imperative that health professionals understand the ways it shapes health and help-seeking behaviors.     

Minding the gap: health and social care provider perceptions of parental communication and Black-Canadian youths’ sexual health

Abstract

Health and social care providers’ perceptions of Black-Canadian parent-youth sexual health communication has important implications for addressing knowledge gaps in the provision of services to young people and their parents. Providers’ perceptions are crucial as they often act as advisers in tailoring programmes or services to the perceived needs of parents and youth. To understand these perceptions, 17 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with providers who worked with African, Caribbean or Black (ACB) parents and youth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Critical Race Theory was used to help guide the interpretation of findings. The findings revealed providers believed that many parents were unlikely to explicitly discuss sexual health or HIV prevention with young people. Additionally, providers perceived that the content of and approach to parent-youth sexual health communication differed between African and Caribbean clients. Moreover, providers believed that both parents’ and young people’s sex and gender impacted the quality, content and style of sexual health communication and had important implications for programme development. Overall, findings suggest a need for understanding the development of providers’ perceptions of this communication, ways to address these perceptions and further parent-provider collaboration to promote Black youths’ sexual health.     

Unpacking the health and social consequences of COVID-19 through a race,migration and gender lens

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems across the world. To date, there has been little application of a race, migration and gender lens to explore the long-term health and social consequences of COVID-19 in African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities in Canada, who have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. The evidence presented in this commentary suggests that recovery strategies need to adopt an intersectional lens taking into account race, migration and gender since ACB women and ACB immigrant women have been among the populations most impacted both personally and economically. To do so, there is an urgent need to incorporate variables capturing race, beyond “visible minority” status; gender, beyond looking at differences between women and men; and factors to help understand the complexities of migration trajectories (i.e., beyond the dichotomy of born in Canada versus not born in Canada categories) in Canadian datasets. We provide examples of policy and practice initiatives that will be urgently required to address the needs of these population groups as these race-based data become available.     

Health-care access as a social determinant of health

The social determinants of health (SDH) are recognized as important indicators of health and well-being. Health-care services (primary, secondary, tertiary care) have not until recently been considered an SDH. Inequities in access to health care are changing this view. These inequities include barriers faced by certain population groups at point of care, such as the lack of cultural competence of health-care providers. The authors show how a social justice perspective can help nurses understand how to link inequities in access to poorer health outcomes, and they call on nurses to break the cycle of oppression that contributes to these inequities.     

Becoming a mother: the meaning of childbirth for African-Canadian women

Increasingly, with globalization, various countries including Canada are becoming ethno-racially and culturally diverse. Health professionals face the challenge of working effectively across these ethno-racial and cultural boundaries. In acknowledgement of the need to generate knowledge that informs the development of effective health care policies, this paper discusses the findings of a qualitative study that examined the childbirth experiences of African-Canadian women. The meaning of childbirth, which is the primary focus of this paper, includes: sense of responsibility, childbirth as a positive life event, the uniqueness of childbirth as a life experience, childbirth as a bitter-sweet paradox, and childbirth as a spiritual event. The paper will conclude with a discussion of study implications including the need to provide opportunity for nurses to learn about the client's values, beliefs, and practices. This is necessary for the attainment of desired health outcomes such as having a healthy mother and the safe birth of a healthy baby.     

Sexual Debut Among Heterosexual Men of African and Caribbean Descent: Are the Youth Initiating Sex Earlier than the Older Generation?

Although age at first sex is considered a measure of sexual risk and vulnerability for HIV infection, there is a dearth of literature on age at sexual debut in the Canadian context. This study examined time variations to first sex among heterosexual African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) men in four Ontarian cities. A population-based retrospective survey (n?=?879) on timing to first sexual intercourse was conducted between 2018 and 2019 among self-identified heterosexual ACB men 16 years or older and residing in London, Ottawa, Toronto or Windsor. We used the lognormal survival analysis technique to examine variations in time to first sexual intercourse among age cohorts and between cities. The findings showed a generational shift in the pattern of sexual initiation, with younger heterosexual ACB men initiating sexual intercourse earlier compared with those currently older than 50 years. We observed those between 16 and 19 years, 20 and 29 years, and 30 and 39 years of age to have significantly higher risk ratios of TR?=?0.852, TR?=?0.869, and TR?=?0.855, respectively. At city level, the results show marked spatial variations, with youth in cities of Toronto, Ottawa, and London at the highest risk of early sexual debut relative to those in Windsor. Early initiation of first sexual intercourse among heterosexual ACB youth was observed with those in the larger cities being at a relatively higher risk. There is the need for programs aimed at delaying sexual debut among youth in general. It is, however, important to recognize the relative risk of those in the larger cities.

     

Advancing research for HIV prevention among African,Caribbean and Black men: Protocol for a multisite cross-sectional study in Ontario (weSpeak study)

In Ontario, African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) men account for almost 60% of the estimated number of HIV-positive people (through heterosexual contact), although they constitute less than 5% of the province''s population. However, current HIV research, programming and policy in Ontario are not aligned with heterosexual ACB men''s healthcare needs and interests, and fail to engage them in community responses to HIV.weSpeak is a multisite (Ottawa, Toronto, London, and Windsor) project that is aims to:

• 1.assess the sociocultural and socio-political conditions that contribute to HIV related health disparities among ACB men,
• 2.examine social and behavioral vulnerabilities to HIV among ACB men, including their social identities related to race, class, gender and sexualities,
• 3.community engagement and mobilization part of the project, and
• 4.generate, appraise and share new knowledge, and support its translation into intervention and practice.

This will be a mixed method study comprising focus groups, in-depth interviews, and a survey to meet the data objectives. All data collection activities will take place at the same time in 4 cities in 3 sequential phases:

• 1.focus groups,
• 2.in-depth interviews, and
• 3.a questionnaire survey.

Service providers will participate in the concept mapping exercise to review the research findings and develop program, policy, and community-based initiatives to promote resilience and meaningfully engage heterosexual ACB men in community responses to HIV survey.This study will provide evidence on:

• 1.heterosexual ACB men''s experience of structural disadvantage and psychological factors is associated with HIV vulnerability.
• 2.heterosexual ACB men with greater internal resilience and social resources show greater risky behaviors, and
• 3.a conceptual Model of HIV vulnerability linking the potential internal and external factors that interact to influence HIV vulnerability.

This study will lead to better understanding of the structural determinants and the psychosocial risk factors of HIV transmission among ACB men in Ontario which will aid in designing evidence-based intervention programs, and thereby reduce their higher vulnerability to HIV and its associated consequences.