Grant: Catalyst Grant: Healthy Youth - Indigenous Youth

Indigenous youth aged 15 to 24 constitute approximately 17% of the Indigenous population in Canada. They face unique sexual and reproductive health (SRH) inequities, including a heightened likelihood of becoming parents at a young age, roughly three times more than non-Indigenous youth. Despite these unique circumstances, there is a notable deficiency in culturally-centred SRH services tailored to their needs. The damaging legacy of policies that criminalized the practice of Indigenous life course teachings, including, until recently, the banning of Indigenous midwifery, continues to influence the lack of youth-oriented SRH services rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being in Canada. To bridge this gap in health care, our youth-engaged research project will collaborate with community partners and establish an Indigenous youth working group to understand the necessity for, and practical implementation of, culturally-centred, youth-oriented SRH services in the region. The project is supported by the Victoria Youth Clinic Society (Foundry Victoria), an innovative facility that specializes in team-based primary care services for youth ages 12-24, which uniquely includes two Indigenous, salaried midwives as part of its primary health care team. Together, the youth working group, Indigenous youth peer research advisors, Indigenous midwives, community leaders and researchers will (1) collaborate on a draft action plan to implement culturally-centred SRH services, (2) pilot strategies with Indigenous youth in the community and produce a final report, and, (3) lay the groundwork for a knowledge dissemination grant to share findings across the knowledge mobilization platform of the 20+ BC Foundry centres open and in active development. This research project aims to make an important advance towards bridging the gap in culturally-centred SRH care, ensuring that Indigenous youth receive the culturally sensitive and holistic support they deserve.