Social Correlates of HIV-Risky Behaviours among African Canadian Adolescents Living in British Columbia, Canada: A Secondary Data Analysis

Abstract

Studies have linked HIV-risky behaviours among young people to several socio-contextual factors. However, the social factors that might increase African Canadian adolescents’ exposure to HIV-risky behaviours, including unprotected sex and forced or multiple-sexual partnerships, have received little or no attention in the literature. Using data from the British Columbia Adolescent Health Surveys (2003–2018) and guided by intersectionality and socio-ecological frameworks, we examined the social determinants of HIV-risky behaviours (HRB) among African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia. We observed a general decline in HRB from 2008 to 2018. However, more than half (54.5%) of the 1042 who were sexually experienced in 2018 reported having 2 or more sexual partners, and nearly half reported condom-less sex. Our results demonstrate an important need to evaluate the impacts of several social factors on health outcomes for a unique, marginalized population.

Intersectionality in nursing research: A scoping review

“…1 ). Of these, 320 articles were selected for full-text review to assess their relevance to our inclusion criteria, and 131 articles were included for the review ( Shahram et al., 2017 ; Hulko, 2009 ; Ngum Chi Watts et al., 2014 ; Kim and DeMarco, 2022 ; Thomas and Lightman, 2022 ; Edwards, 2021 ; Isaac, 2020 ; Sodré de Souza and Hiromi Tanaka, 2022 ; Kailemia et al., 2023 ; Duijs et al., 2023 ; Nepali et al., 2023 ; Haghiri-Vijeh, 2022 ; Lane, 2023 ; Holmgren et al., 2014 ; López et al., 2023 ; Cicero et al., 2023 ; Klusaritz et al., 2023 ; Aburizik et al., 2023 ; Acosta and Morris McEwen, 2023 ; Hill et al., 2023 ; Kemei et al., 2023 a; Kemei et al., 2023 b; Kemei et al., 2023 c; Luhanga et al., 2023 ; Keshet et al., 2015 ; Manca et al., 2022 ; Mehra et al., 2023 ; OjiNjideka Hemphill et al., 2023 ; Ojukwu et al., 2023 ; Salami et al., 2022 ; Nogueira et al., 2023 ; Small et al., 2022 ; Wiegand et al., 2023 ; O'Mahony et al., 2023 ; Pimienta et al., 2023 ; Giesbrecht et al., 2015 ; Crawford et al., 2023 ; Cuesta and Rämgård, 2016 ; McConnell et al., 2016 ; Höglund et al., 2016 ; Holmström et al., 2017 ; MacDonnell et al., 2017 ; Freeman et al., 2017 ; Guruge et al., 2010 ; Caiola et al., 2017 ; Coleman-Minahan, 2017 ; Van Dyke et al., 2017 ; Jörgensdotter Wegnelius and Petersson, 2018 ; Holtmann and Rickards, 2018 ; Pe...…”

“…1) Ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sex Weathering hypothesis O'Brien et al. (2019) 71 Ohio, USA NR Strength-based Evaluate the effectiveness of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention with nurses and nurse-aids NR NR Ojukwu et al. (2023) 21,834 British Columbia, Canada 2003–2018 Deficit-based Examine the underlying social causes of HIV-risky behaviors among African Canadian adolescents in British Columbia.…”

A systematic review of the association between history of sexually transmitted infections and subsequent condom use in adolescents

“…African-American girls are often disproportionately negatively affected by sexual and reproductive health conditions compared with girls from other races or ethnicities, in part because of socioeconomic factors [ 99 ]. The higher odds of infection in ethnic minorities [ 11 , 100 ] could partially explain their high representation in the studies included in the systematic review. Race and ethnicity remain important in health research, notably to highlight health disparities.…”

“…Disagreements were discussed and resolved by the two reviewers, with arbitration by a third reviewer as needed. Confounders were selected based on an a priori literature screening, which identified the following as determinants of exposure and outcome: social and sexual network [ 65 , 66 ]; risky sexual behavior tendencies [ 67 , 68 ]; education [ 18 , 69 , 70 ]; knowledge and awareness [ 71 – 73 ]; socioeconomic status [ 65 , 74 ]; healthcare resources [ 65 , 74 , 75 ]; age [ 8 , 9 , 65 ]; gender [ 76 , 77 ]; ethnicity [ 11 , 78 ]; and cultural and religious beliefs [ 65 , 79 ].…”

“…Adolescents and youths between the ages of 10 and 24 years [ 7 ] are particularly susceptible to STIs due to biological, behavioral, and social factors [ 8 , 9 ]. Adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds [ 10 ], ethnic minorities [ 11 ], and sexual orientation minorities [ 12 ] face even higher odds of infection.…”